Bulgaria plans to reduce the number of its troops in Iraq by a quarter in June and will decide this month whether to completely pull them out by the end of 2005, said the government in Sofia on Thursday.

"There is a significant decrease of around 100 troops in the fifth contingent in Iraq," Bulgarian Defense Minister Nikolai Svinarov told reporters.

The Balkan country has sent about 500 soldiers to Iraq serving under Polish command in the Diwaniya region, and the Bulgarian government is considering a complete pullout by the end of this year.

"By the end of March, we will present to parliament a draft decision for a gradual withdrawal of troops from Iraq by the end of 2005," said the minister, noting only five military instructors will be left in Iraq in 2006 as members of the training mission of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The parliament has the final say on troops deployments abroad.

Bulgaria has lost eight soldiers since the start of US-led military action in Iraq. The eighth one was killed by US "friendly" fire two weeks ago, which triggered strong calls in the NATO newcomer for complete withdrawal from Iraq.

President Georgi Parvanov on Tuesday called for a fast decision on troops pullout from Iraq, while latest opinion polls showed that more than 60 percent of Bulgarians opposed the country's military involvement in Iraq.

(Xinhua News Agency March 18, 2005)