ROME (AFP) - Italy will withdraw its existing force from Iraq by the end of 2006, Defense Minister Antonio Martino announced.

"The military operation Antica Babilonia (Ancient Babylon) will end its mandate gradually over the course of the year 2006 and the mission will be considered over and accomplished at the end of the year," Martino told the defense committees of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate on Thursday.

He said however that Italian soldiers may be present on Iraqi soil after this year to protect a civilian mission. "We are capable of assuming the responsibility and management of a possible reconstruction team in Dhi Qar province," he added, referring to a commitment that he described as "mainly civilian, but which would not exclude a military presence, very different from the current one, to assure the safety of civilian staff."

Martino told the Italian entertainment weekly Diva e Donna, published Wednesday, that Rome planned to halve its troop deployment by May.