Bulgaria wraps up Iraq recruitment

Bulgaria has completed successfully the recruitment of soldiers for the third unit to be deployed in Iraq.

Colonel Georgi Karumchev from the headquarters of the Bulgarian army specified that the preparations of the soldiers at Marino Pole proceed as scheduled.

A nearly 500-strong Bulgarian stabilization force patrols Iraq's second holiest Shiite city of Karbala, 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Baghdad, as part of a 9,000-strong force under Polish command.

A number of problems accompanied the recruitment of the third Bulgarian unit as dropouts expressed willingness to leave Iraq due to the rising tension in the restive city.