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WASHINGTON (AFP) — The US military has decided to reduce its total combat force in Iraq by a brigade to 14 brigades sooner than anticipated because of improved security conditions, the Pentagon said Thursday.

The 2nd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, which is based in northwest Baghdad, will begin withdrawing this month two months ahead of schedule, Pentagon officials said.

The division's 3rd Brigade also is coming out this month and will not be replaced, which will shrink the size of the US force to 14 combat brigades, they said.

The military command in Iraq said the moves were possible because of reduced violence.

There are still 152,000 US troops in Iraq, only about 10,000 fewer than at the peak of a 30,000 troop surge earlier this year that halted the country's slide into civil war.

Pentagon officials attribute the high troop numbers to overlapping force rotations, but said they were expected to settle at a lower level by early next year.

The moves come as US and Iraqi officials are trying to conclude an agreement that will set forth a timetable for a withdrawal of all combat troops by the end of 2011.

The so-called status of forces agreement will also provide a legal basis for the US military presence beyond the end of this year, when a UN mandate runs out.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the US side had accepted some changes to a draft agreement proposed by the Iraqis, but would not say what they were.

BAGHDAD – Washington will accelerate its plans to reduce the number of combat troops in Iraq by bringing a brigade home this month, six weeks earlier than anticipated, the U.S. military said on Thursday.

The 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, based in northwest Baghdad where attacks have dropped sharply, had been scheduled to leave Iraq after Jan. 1. A brigade has about 3,500 soldiers.

'Due to the continued improving security environment ... the unit is able to redeploy six weeks early,' said military spokesman Colonel Bill Buckner.

The outgoing administration of President George W. Bush announced in September it would reduce the U.S. force in Iraq to 14 combat brigades from 15 early next year.

Buckner said the early departure meant the reduction would take place ahead of schedule. Under current plans, 14 combat brigades are due to remain in Iraq through next year.

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, who will become U.S. president in January, campaigned on a promise to bring combat troops home from Iraq by mid-2010.

The reduction of the U.S. force of about 150,000 in Iraq reflects the growing confidence of U.S. military leaders that security gains in Iraq can be maintained.

U.S. military activities would become more limited next year under a deal that U.S. and Iraqi officials hope to conclude by the end of the year to replace a U.N. troop mandate. The agreement would allow U.S. troops to stay through 2011 and would restrict U.S. patrols of Iraqi cities and towns by mid-2009.