ROME (AP) – Italy’s prime minister announced plans Tuesday to start drawing down his country’s 3,000-strong contingent in Iraq in September, putting a fresh crack in President Bush’s crumbling coalition. Bulgaria also called for a partial withdrawal, and Ukraine welcomed home its first wave of returning troops.

The moves come on top of the withdrawal of more than a dozen countries over the last year and could complicate efforts to keep the peace while Iraq’s new government builds up police and military units capable of taking over from foreign forces.

Two years after the U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein, the coalition is unraveling amid mounting casualties and kidnappings that have stoked anti-war sentiment and sapped leaders’ resolve to keep troops in harm’s way.

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, who confirmed he would seek re-election next year, alluded to the rising public discontent and said he had spoken with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, another strong Washington ally. “We need to construct a precise exit strategy, also because our publics’ opinions expect this communication and we agree to talk about it soon.”

“Starting with the month of September, we would like to proceed with a gradual reduction of our soldiers,” Berlusconi said on a state TV talk show that lasted into early Wednesday. He added that the withdrawal would be tied to the Iraqis’ ability to secure the country.

As of now, the reduction in the Italian contingent will start “even before the year’s end, in agreement with our allies,” Berlusconi added.

Italy’s government, a staunch U.S. ally, had vowed to stay despite suffering 21 casualties and enduring fierce public opposition that escalated this month after U.S. soldiers in Baghdad fatally shot an Italian intelligence agent escorting a newly freed hostage.

Asked whether the shooting played a role in Berlusconi’s decision, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said, “I’m not sure I’d make a connection there … I haven’t heard any comment to that effect from Italian officials.”

The Italian opposition criticized Berlusconi for making the announcement on a talk show instead of before lawmakers, who were debating whether to extend financing for the deployment through June.

That extension was approved by the lower house of Parliament. The Senate already voted to extend the mission last month.

Thirty-eight countries have provided troops in Iraq at one point or another. But 14 nations have permanently withdrawn since the March 2003 invasion, and today’s coalition stands at 24. Excluding U.S. forces, there are 22,750 foreign soldiers still in Iraq.

The scramble to get out has taken the multinational force from a high of about 300,000 soldiers in the region early in 2003 to 172,750 and falling. About 150,000 U.S. troops shoulder the bulk of the responsibility and suffer the most casualties.

A Pentagon spokesman, Lt. Col. Barry Venable, said the decisions by some nations to reduce or end their presence in Iraq was not a threat to security. “The coalition is strong,” he said.

The United States also is drawing down its troop levels. After bolstering the U.S. force to about 155,000 during Iraq’s recent elections, the Pentagon is bringing some units home and expects to be down to 138,000 soldiers in a few months.

Some 137 Ukrainian servicemen returned home Tuesday, part of a gradual pullout of a 1,650-strong contingent to be completed in October. Ukraine has lost 18 soldiers in Iraq, and its people overwhelmingly oppose the deployment.

The Netherlands formally ended its mission March 7, and the bulk of its 1,400 troops return home this month despite urging from the U.S. and British governments to extend the mission.

Poland, which has command responsibility for a large swath of central Iraq, plans to withdraw several hundred of its 1,700 soldiers in July and hopes to pull out completely by year’s end or early in 2006.

Among the nations that withdrew last year were Spain, which pulled out 1,300 soldiers; Tonga, 44; New Zealand, 60; Thailand, 423; the Philippines, 51; Honduras, 370; the Dominican Republic, 302; Nicaragua, 115; and Hungary, 300. Norway withdrew 150 troops but left 16 liaison officers, and Singapore withdrew 160, but later provided a landing ship tank and crew.

Last month, Portugal withdrew its 127 soldiers, and Moldova pulled out its 12.

The Associated Press tally is based on queries to military officials in the various coalition nations. The trend isn’t closely tracked on Web sites maintained by the Defense Department or the U.S. Central Command, which offer dated information.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said on Wednesday that Italy’s possible scale-down would have no effect on Tokyo’s deployment of 550 troops.

Ferocious insurgent attacks, coalition casualties and a spate of civilian abductions and beheadings have rattled citizens in many countries.

“If we continue to keep our troops in Iraq, Koreans – not only here but also abroad – will be subject to terrorist attacks. It only puts our security in danger,” said Ryu Jae-yoon, a 22-year-old office worker in Seoul.

Anti-war sentiment boiled over there last June when a South Korean military contract worker was beheaded by militants after the Seoul government refused a demand to withdraw its forces.

In Bulgaria, which has 460 troops in Iraq, the deaths of eight soldiers have heightened public calls to bring them home. On Tuesday, President Georgi Parvanov urged a partial withdrawal, a proposal that parliament must now decide.

America’s top two allies in Iraq – Britain, with about 8,000 soldiers, and South Korea with 3,600 – are standing firm. Australia, Albania and Georgia are boosting their presence, and NATO is expanding its training mission in Baghdad.

Yet surveys suggest opposition is running at roughly two-thirds in most coalition countries.

In Albania, a staunch U.S. ally that plans to enlarge its 71-member contingent to 121 in April, there are fears the troops could end up paying with their lives.

“Our men should be back, alive, as soon as possible,” said Qerime Haxhia, a 54-year-old woman selling vegetables in downtown Tirana. “Can our small group help big America’s army keep Iraq calm? I doubt that.”

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Associated Press writers Bo-Mi Lim in Seoul, South Korea; Veselin Toshkov in Sofia, Bulgaria; and Llazar Semini in Tirana, Albania; and researcher Jennifer Farrar in New York contributed to this story.