El Salvador to send more troops to Iraq

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador

El Salvador will send its eighth contingent of soldiers to Iraq, the president said Thursday.

The new soldiers will replace those scheduled to return to the Central American country in February, said President Tony Saca, who is one of the strongest U.S. allies in the region.

El Salvador is the only Latin American country that still has soldiers in Iraq. The country's Congress has approved maintaining a presence in Iraq until the end of 2007.

Since the first Salvadoran troops arrived in Iraq in 2003, five soldiers have been killed and 24 others have been wounded.

Defense Minister Otto Romero said his soldiers were strengthening security measures after the execution of
Saddam Hussein. He said retaliation attacks were possible.

"As part of the multinational force, we have taken precautions in Iraq and here in El Salvador," he said. "No one can dispute that we live in a world that is a little more troubled. There are fanatics all over."