Bulgarian Cabinet approved the dispatching of a 500-strong battalion with the armament and combat equipment for the participation of the post-war reconstruction of Iraq. The proposal will be tabled in Parliament to endorse it conclusively.

The mission of the Bulgarian battalion is expected to continue for about a year. The rotation of the battalion will come in every 4 months.

Volunteers for the battalion are already being recruited. The daily allowance of the Bulgarian peacekeepers will be USD 60 per capita but Sofia expects the expenses to be covered by Washington.

The functions of the battalion will not be limited to guard duty only and it will most probably be deployed in the Polish sector in Iraq.

At the beginning of the war in Iraq Bulgaria was planning to send a nuclear, biological and chemical defence contingent to a country neighbouring to Iraq, but its mission in Iraq failed as military operations were over and the unit was disbanded.