The U.S. military says it will soon withdraw 3500 soldiers deployed to Iraq as part of the so-called "surge" in U.S. troops last year.

US soldier from 3rd Brigade Combat team, 3rd Infantry Division listens to Iraqi woman during patrol (March 2008 file photo)

A statement says the soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division will be moved out of Iraq in the next few weeks.

U.S. Brigadier-General Dan Allyn says the regular withdrawal of surge brigades from Iraq demonstrates continued progress in the country.

The re-deployment of the 3500 troops is in line with a U.S. plan to complete a withdrawal of at least 20,000 surge troops by the end of July.

Last month, President Bush ordered an indefinite suspension of U.S. troop withdrawals from Iraq after July, and he imposed a 45-day freeze on withdrawals of the remaining 140,000 American troops in Iraq.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.