WASHINGTON, Dec 26 (AFP): The top US military commander admitted Sunday that Iraqis wanted US and other foreign troops to leave the country "as soon as possible", and said US troop levels in Iraq were now being re-assessed on a monthly basis. The admission by Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Marine General Peter Pace followed a decision by the Pentagon to reduce its presence in Iraq by two army brigades, which amounts to about 7,000 soldiers. "Understandably, Iraqis themselves would prefer to have coalition forces leave their country as soon as possible," Pace said in a Christmas Day interview on the Fox News Sunday show. "They don't want us to leave tomorrow, but they do want us to leave as soon as possible." However, an opinion survey conducted in Iraq in October and November by ABC News and a pool of other US and foreign media outlets showed that despite some improvements in security and living standards, US military operations in the country were increasingly unpopular. Two-thirds of those polled said they opposed the presence of US and coalition forces in Iraq, up 14 points from a similar survey taken in February 2004. Nearly 60 per cent disapproved of the way the United States has operated in Iraq since the war began in March 2003, with most of those expressing "strong disapproval," the poll found. When asked to suggest a timing for the US pullout, 26 per cent said US and other coalition forces should "leave now," while 19 per cent opted for a withdrawal after the Iraqis formed a new government based on the results on the December 15 election. Among those who support a delayed pullout, 31 per cent said it should happen after security is fully restored, while 16 per cent favored waiting until Iraqi security forces can operate independently and five per cent suggested longer delays, according to the survey. Meanwhile, Two US soldiers were killed on Christmas in separate attacks in Baghdad, according to the US military. The two were killed in separate road side bomb attacks on their patrols. The announcement of the second casualty came late Sunday night and brings the toll for US casualties since the start of the war to at least 2,164 according to the news agency count based on Pentagon figures. In another development, Guerrillas killed 10 members of the Iraqi security forces in separate attacks north of Baghdad Monday, officials said. In an early morning attack in Buhriz, about 60 km (37 miles) from Baghdad, guerrillas opened fire on a checkpoint, killing five Iraqi policemen and wounding three others, police said. They said six guerrillas were killed when police officers returned fire. In the village of Dhabab, some 100 km (62 miles) from Baghdad, five soldiers were killed by gunmen while leaving for work or during their morning routine, the army said. On Friday, guerrillas stormed an army post, killing 10 soldiers and wounding 20.
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