Aug 31 (Reuters) - The U.S. military has cut its forces in Iraq to below 50,000 ahead of its end-August deadline for ending the 7-1/2-year combat mission launched by former President George W. Bush. Operations formally switch to assisting Iraq's armed forces on Sept. 1.
Here are details of U.S. troop numbers in other major theatres:
THEATRE NUMBER
AFGHANISTAN 94,000
GERMANY 52,332**
IRAQ 49,700
JAPAN 35,562**
SOUTH KOREA 28,500*
ITALY 9,677**
UK 9,239**
* Estimated figure
** As of March 31, 2010. Source: Reuters/Pentagon (Writing by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit)
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