BAGHDAD, May 29: The US military announced on Thursday the withdrawal of another 4,000 “surge” troops from Iraq after reporting that violence across the country has hit a four-year low.

It said the latest pullout was to be completed by next month. It is the fourth brigade to withdraw from Iraq out of five that deployed under the controversial “surge” of American forces in February 2007.

“The brigade played an integral role in establishing the conditions for long-term security in Iraq by reducing violence in the Diyala province by 70 per cent,” the military said in a statement.

The latest withdrawal announcement came after US officials said that last week had seen the lowest level of violence across Iraq in four years, but gave no casualty figures.

Figures maintained by the independent website www.icasualties.org show that the number of US fatalities so far this month was 19, the lowest average since the American invasion in March 2003.

Total US losses in Iraq are 4,084, according to the website.

Washington has said it wants to complete the withdrawal of the 30,000 surge troops by July and have a 45-day evaluation period before considering the overall level of US troops.

Earlier this month, the Americans said they had 152,500 troops deployed across Iraq together with an estimated 10,000 troops from other countries contributing to the US-led coalition.

US military spokesman Rear Admiral Patrick Driscoll said violent incidents had declined 70 per cent since last year’s “surge” which saw an extra 30,000 soldiers poured in to curb sectarian violence.

“Iraqi-wide we have seen a significant reduction in violence in the past week,” Driscoll said on Sunday. “Security incidents decreased to a level not seen since March 2004.”However, he cautioned that Al Qaeda still posed a serious challenge to American and Iraqi security forces and had the ability to stage deadly suicide bombings and fuel sectarian clashes.

US ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, said he saw a steady improvement in the situation in Iraq, with local police and security forces better able to take control of the situation and deal with insurgents.

Crocker opened two provincial reconstruction offices in the Shiite holy cities of Najaf and Karbala over the weekend and called for faster rebuilding saying the security situation had made it possible.

Meanwhile, Iraq’s international backers are meeting in Stockholm to take stock of developments in the country.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is hosting the conference alongside UN chief Ban Ki-moon with the hope of winning debt forgiveness, a cut in war reparations and a bigger slice of foreign aid to rebuild his ravaged nation.—AFP