LONDON, May 2: Up to 4,000 troops are to be sent to Iraq to take control of the Shia holy city of Najaf in the largest expansion of British forces in the country since the end of the war, a British newspaper said on Sunday.

The troops will begin arriving in the next few weeks to plug the gap left by Spain's 1,432-strong military contingent in Iraq which will have left the country a month from now, said the Sunday Telegraph, a newspaper known for its connections to Britain's military establishment.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair took the decision to send the additional troops to Iraq after meeting US President George Bush at a White House summit two weeks ago, it said. Najaf is where Moqtada Sadr has established thousands of militia forces vehemently opposed to the occupation. -AFP