Japan will start pulling out its Ground Self-Defense Force troops from the southern Iraq city of Samawah in March and complete the withdrawal by the end of May, Foreign Ministry officials said Friday.

British and Australian troops in charge of maintaining security in the region also plan to withdraw their forces in March, a senior Foreign Ministry official said.

The pullout of the two countries' troops is key to Japan's own withdrawal schedule because the GSDF only has a mandate for reconstruction work and relies on other coalition troops to provide security in Al-Muthanna Province, where the GSDF troops are based.