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BAGHDAD — U.S. combat troops will leave all Iraqi cities by their scheduled deadline of the end of this month, the commander of U.S. forces said Monday.
American combat troops must pull back from cities by June 30 under a U.S.-Iraqi security pact that took effect this year. But Gen. Ray Odierno said earlier this year that troops might remain in Baghdad and Mosul because of continuing security concerns.
At a news conference Monday with senior Iraqi officials, Odierno said violence has declined because of a number of successful military operations in the past month or so.
