Around 1,000 Italian soldiers in Iraq started handing over their duty to comrades on Wednesday, in the first step toward a full withdrawal by the autumn, the ANSA news agency reported.

The Sassari regiment is expected to return home by June 28, leaving the number of Italian troops in Iraq at around 1,600.

Italy sent 3,200 troops to the southern Iraqi city of Nassiriya in June 2003 to support the U.S.-led invasion.

The force was reduced to 2,900 in September 2005 and a further 300 troops were pulled out in January this year.

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, who narrowly beat Silvio Berlusconi in the April general election, has recently condemned the Iraq war as a "grave error" which created "new pretexts for terrorist actions."

His center-left government pledged to bring all troops home by autumn this year.

While affirming his commitment to close ties with Washington, the former European Commission boss has made it clear that Europe is now the anchor of Italy's foreign policy.

In an open letter published on Wednesday by the Wall Street Journal, Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema echoed Prodi's remarks.

"The new government in Rome is committed to building a stronger Euro-Atlantic community... The community I have in mind remains grounded in NATO but must also rely on a strong and united Europe, " D'Alema said.

Addressing Italy's military pull-out from Iraq, D'Alema said that "the Prodi government will manage it in an orderly way, in consultation with the Iraqi government and the coalition partners."

"We will guarantee that the modalities of the withdrawal do not exacerbate the problems facing the Iraqi government nor the security of the Multinational Force partners," he said.

D'Alema, who visited Baghdad last week, also repeated that Italy would not be turning its back on Iraq and would boost its role in the country's gradual reconstruction and democratic development.

Source: Xinhua