Iraq pullout conditional: Australia

Canberra: Australia has an exit strategy for its forces in Iraq but the withdrawal of troops would be based on conditions in Iraq and not on any deadline, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said on Friday.

Downer's comments are the first public mention of an exit strategy, as Australia has previously said it would keep its forces in Iraq until Iraqi forces could take over security.

"Obviously there is an exit plan. It is not time-bound, it's condition bound," Downer said.

Australia was one of the first countries to commit forces to the US-led war to oust Saddam Hussein, and still has about 1,000 forces in and around Iraq, including 450 troops guarding Japanese engineers in the southern Al Muthanna province.

Japan has extended the deployment of its non-combat troops in Iraq for up to another year and Australia has said it wants to continue to provide security for Japanese contingent.

Downer said that Australia would not set a deadline for ending its deployment in Iraq, as that could encourage more militant violence, but would withdraw forces when the country could look after its own security.

But he foreshadowed a gradual reduction in foreign troops in 2006 following elections for a new Iraqi government.

Downer said that all foreign forces wanted to leave Iraq as soon as possible, but withdrawal would depend on the ability of Iraqi forces to take over.

He expected the US and other countries to start withdrawing forces next year after this week's elections.

"Once the election is out of the way, and that's where we are now, I think you will see a gradual decline in the number of American troops and other foreign troops there," he said.

The US has about 155,000 troops in Iraq, while Britain has about 8,000.

Italy has said it will reduce its 2,600 troops in Iraq by 10 percent in January, while Britain in November said that it could start withdrawing troops if local forces could keep the peace.

Downer said that reports suggested Iraq's 200,000 strong security forces did a good job in keeping security under control on election day.