All Spanish troops out of Iraq
27/04/2004 - 15:52:14Spain has completed the withdrawal of its peacekeeping troops from Iraq, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said today.
“Today, as of 1600 hours, no Spanish member of the Plus Ultra II brigade remains in Iraq,” Zapatero told parliament in a debate on his decision to withdraw the 1,300 troops.
The Plus Ultra brigade is the name for the Spanish contingent, which was stationed in the south-central cities of Najaf and Diwaniya.
Zapatero said the only Spanish military personnel who remain in Iraq are logistics experts assigned with shipping home military equipment. He said these people would be out of Iraq by May 27.
Zapatero reiterated assertions that the war in Iraq was illegal because it lacked a United Nations mandate, and he recalled his campaign pledge to bring the troops home unless the world body took military and political control of the occupation.
Zapatero’s party won general elections on March 14.
“We should not have gone to Iraq. Therefore, we had to return as soon as possible,” Zapatero said, drawing applause.
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