The United States will reduce the number of troops in Iraq by around 12,000 in the next six months, the US military said yesterday, a step in President Barack Obama's plan to end combat operations in August 2010.

"Two brigade combat teams who were scheduled to redeploy in the next six months, along with enabling forces such as logistics, engineers and intelligence, will not be replaced," the US military said in a statement.

Reducing the number of US combat brigades in Iraq from 14 to 12 would cut the number of American troops, currently around 140,000, by 12,000, said Major-General David Perkins, spokesman for US forces in Iraq.