WASHINGTON, Aug 8 (Reuters) - The United States called on Russia to withdraw its combat troops from Georgia and stop air strikes following fighting in the breakaway region of South Ossetia.

"We call on Russia to cease attacks on Georgia by aircraft and missiles, respect Georgia's territorial integrity, and withdraw its ground combat forces from Georgian soil," U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in a statement on Friday.

(Reporting by Susan Cornwell, editing by Randall Mikkelsen)

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