Iraq Qaeda wing says Italian troops still targets

DUBAI, Wednesday (Reuters) Iraq's al Qaeda wing said on Wednesday Italian troops "humbled" by insurgent attacks would still be targeted despite Rome's plans to start pulling out from Iraq in September, according to an Internet statement.

"We tell those whose might was humbled in Iraq and we tell Italy, the worshipper of the cross, that we will continue to fire bullets at you," said al Qaeda Organisation for Holy War in Iraq, led by Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

"The longer Italy stays in Iraq the greater will be its losses," the group's military leader said in a statement posted on Web sites used by Islamic militants. It could not be independently verified.

"Jihad (holy war) has started to bear fruit."

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, one of U.S. President George W. Bush's staunchest allies, said on Tuesday Rome would start to pull its troops out of Iraq in September.