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 MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Over 1,000 members of the Minnesota National Guard will begin deploying to Iraq this week.
The members of the Red Bulls 34th Infantry have been training in Fort Lewis, Wash., for about two months.
The Red Bulls will command a coalition of about 16,000 multinational forces, as well as Iraqi security forces in more than a third of Iraq - a broader responsibility than they've had in the past.
They'll operate in an area stretching from Baghdad south to the border and east to parts of the border with Iran.
Maj. Gen. Rick Nash, who will command the group, says a key responsibility will be to encourage open trade with Iran and to monitor borders for illegal smuggling and insurgent activity.
They are slated to return to Minnesota in February.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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