British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon announced on Thursday that the British government is to send about 370 extra troops to Iraq one month before the planned June 30 power transfer to the Iraqi interim government.  

The reinforcements will supplement the 8,600 British soldiers already based around the southern Iraqi city of Basra, Hoon told the House of Commons, Britain's lower house of parliament.

In the face of continuing threats from insurgent groups, British commanding officers had requested that a battalion trained to use Warrior fighting vehicles replace a light infantry unit that will soon end its term in Iraq, Hoon said in a statement.

Army commanders had also asked for a squadron of Royal Engineers to improve the protection of British bases against rocket and mortar attack, he said.

"It remains the case that we, with our coalition partners, are considering the levels and dispositions of forces required in Iraq in the months ahead," Hoon said, indicating that further British troop reinforcement might be necessary.

Earlier, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense said any extra troops would only be sent to the area of southern Iraq which is under British control.

Reports in the British media have speculated that the government is preparing to send about 3,000 more troops to Iraq to fill the gap left by the withdrawal of troops from Spain, Honduras and the Dominican Republic in other areas, such as Najaf.

An opinion poll published by the Guardian newspaper here on Tuesday showed that two-thirds of Britons oppose sending more soldiers to Iraq.

Prime Minister Tony Blair's office insisted on Thursday that the reinforcement was not a "big strategic decision."

Analysts say sending more troops would be a gamble for Blair who is facing tumbling popularity ratings due to his Iraq policy.     

Hoon's announcement comes after Blair warned that al Qaida would try to block the hand over of power to an interim Iraqi government on June 30.

Blair, who denied on Wednesday suggestions of a split between London and Washington over whether the new Iraqi government would retain a veto on US and British troop operations after June 30, has insisted that British and US troops would operationally remain under British and US military control.

(Xinhua News Agency May 28, 2004)