More than 10,000 U.S. soldiers in the Third Infantry Division have been ordered to remain indefinitely in Iraq. This comes less than a week after Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said they would return home by September. The Division, which spearheaded the attack on Baghdad, originally expected to return home in June.

The Pentagon made the announcement soon after India rejected a request by the U.S. to send almost 20,000 peacekeeping troops to Iraq. India said it would only send troops under a mandate by the United Nations. Pakistan and Portugal have also declined to send troops.