An Iraqi army battalion trained by Bulgarian and Polish troops in the country has been put on active duty on Tuesday, according to a report by Bulgarian news agency.

The battalion, which completed its training on Tuesday, took over the same day an area in southern Baghdad from foreign troops, it said.

Under an agreement among the Iraqi government, Bulgaria and Poland, the two East European countries will help train part of the new Iraqi army and police forces, which, upon end of the training, would be able to provide security service in areas patrolled by foreign troops.

Bulgaria had sent a special mission formed by military training personnel to Iraq and has also agreed to sell light arms to the new Iraqi army and police forces.

Bulgaria sent 500 troops to Iraq following the US-led war in the Arab country in May 2003, and the congress has decided to pull out the troops by the end of 2005.

(Xinhua News Agency July 13, 2005)