Canada to pull troops out of ground war against terrorism in Afghanistan

OTTAWA (CP) - Canada will pull most of its ground troops out of Afghanistan this summer, leaving a few planes, ships and a handful of special forces soldiers in place, Defence Minister Art Eggleton announced Tuesday.

"This decision took into account a number of operational factors, including the need to provide a rest and training period for our troops," Eggleton told a news conference. The decision came despite a request from the U.S. military that the Canadian infantry stay on to help in the ground war against terrorism. Canada will keep some forces in the area, including five planes, three warships and about 40 commandos from JTF-2, the special operations group.

In all, about 1,300 Canadians will remain in the region, but except for the commandos, they won't be on the sharp end of the action.