Peace activists have reacted with jubilation to news that Spanish troops will be out of Iraq, perhaps within weeks. Spain's Socialist prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero made the announcement just a day after he was sworn in. He fulfils a campaign pledge but the US had hoped he might change his mind. This was not to be. "This morning after the Minister of defence was sworn in, I gave him the order to prepare everything needed to get our forces in Iraq home as soon as possible and in safety," Zapatero said. Spain has 1400 troops in Iraq and under the previous government of Jose Maria Aznar, had been one of the United States' strongest allies in the conflict. Zapatero had said he might keep troops in Iraq if the United Nations played a bigger role by June 30. But he now says he see no indication that the situation will change. Spanish government sources say the troop withdrawal would take at least a month, although they didn't say when it would start. Zapatero was swept to victory just days after the March 11 train bombings which killed nearly 200 people. About 1,000 people gathered in Madrid's central square on Sunday night to celebrate news of the troop withdrawal. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Spain's new Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero makes an announcement at the Moncloa palace in Madrid Sunday April 18, 2004. (AP)