Last Spanish combat units leave Iraq

A ministry spokesman said 248 soldiers flew into Badajoz, southwestern Spain, from Kuwait, after pulling out of the Plus Ultra II brigade, a contingent of the US-led occupation forces in Iraq which also contains Latin Americans.

The defence ministry declined to confirm press reports that there were about 1,000 Spanish soldiers left in Iraq.

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Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero told parliament in Madrid on Tuesday that no Spanish member of the Plus Ultra II brigade remained in Iraq and added that all Spanish personnel would have left Iraq by May 27.

Zapatero's right-wing predecessor, Jose Maria Aznar, last year sent 1,300 soldiers to take part in the Plus Ultra II brigade, in the face of overwhelming public opposition at home.