>I can find many instances of soldiers Dragan
>
>http://www.guardian.co.uk/search?q=soldiers§ion=

That's UK, and, besides, not all in the news.

Googling "soldiers" news 405.000.000 hits

Googling "troops" news 383.000.000 hits

But note the difference in the context. Soldiers are mentioned when it's supposed to be personal, with a story. When it comes to numbers or generalized image of a member of armed forces, he's a troop, as in "expected to withdraw roughly 10000 U.S. troops".