The British government says it is sending some 1,200 extra troops to Iraq and has promised to deploy around the same number again to help restore the country's crippled infrastructure.
The deployment, which will boost Britain's military presence in southern Iraq to 12,000, comes after leaked documents last week showed the government believed more troops were urgently needed to avoid a security collapse in post-war Iraq.
"There is an immediate requirement for two battalions and some additional specialist personnel," Defence Secretary Mr Geoff Hoon said in a written statement to parliament yesterday. British battalions are usually between 600 and 700-strong.
He later added the government envisaged another deployment of the same size in the future.
Yesterday's announcement to parliament followed a US plea for more non-American troops to counter violence and share the cost of occupying Iraq. Washington wants another 15,000 soldiers from other nations to back its own 130,000-strong force.
Nearly 11,000 British troops have been supporting the US-led occupation since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in April.