LONDON — Thousands of troops are to be sent to Iraq to take control of the Shi’ite holy city of Najaf in the largest expansion of British forces since the start of the war more than a year ago.
Up to 4,000 troops will begin arriving in Iraq in the next few weeks to plug the gap left by the 1,300 Spanish soldiers who were withdrawn from the country last week.
Prime Minister Tony Blair made the decision to send additional troops to Iraq after meeting President Bush at the White House two weeks ago.
The British government has refused to make an official announcement about the decision.
Defense officials have backed the deployment, but have warned the government that the army is fully stretched and would struggle to deal with any other international emergency requiring the use of troops.
Senior officers also have warned that the deployment of troops to Najaf and Kut, where heavy fighting recently has taken place, is likely to lead to extensive casualties.
Najaf, which contains the most important Shi’ite shrine in Iraq, is where the anticoalition cleric Sheik Muqtada al-Sadr spends most of his time.
The sheik’s militia repeatedly has battled coalition troops, and the United States has said it wants to capture him dead or alive.
The British force will be composed of troops from the Royal Marine commandos, a parachute regiment battalion and an infantry battalion, as well as supporting elements from the artillery and logistics units.
The force will be lead by Brig. Jim Dutton, the commander of 3rd Commando Brigade, who also served during the war.
The first move toward deployment began Thursday when a strategic reconnaissance team of senior army officers from the Permanent Joint Headquarters, in Northwood, England, flew to Iraq.
It is understood that officers from 3rd Commando Brigade headquarters also will be flying out within the next week to conduct reconnaissance of the area.
The reconnaissance team will deliver its findings to Gen. John Reith, the chief of Joint Operations, who will brief Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon on the plan of action.
The first tranche of troops, either from the commandos or the Parachute Regiment, could arrive in Iraq within the next two weeks and take up the position left by the Spanish troops in Najaf.
At present, the area of Iraq south of Baghdad is divided into two military areas, commanded by multinational divisions. Multinational Division South East, which includes Basra, is commanded by Maj. Gen. Andrew Stewart and is where most of the British army’s 7,500 troops are based.
The extra troops will deploy to the neighboring Multinational Division Central South, which is under Polish command and is where the Spanish troops were deployed.
The plan drawn up by senior British army officers will result in Central South divisional areas being brought under British command.
Although it is possible that other countries might offer to commit more troops to Iraq, U.S. generals have made it clear that their preferred option is for more British reinforcements.
The move will have a significant impact on the army’s future domestic commitments, such as large-scale exercises and routine deployments to Northern Ireland.
However, the decision to send the troops is widely regarded as the least damaging option to both the security and stability of the U.S.-led coalition.
“Not sending troops was never really an option because of the message it would have sent to the rest of the coalition,” a senior Defense Ministry official said. “It is difficult to predict how long these troops will have to remain in Iraq, but it won’t be less than two years. This means that many troops, mainly from the infantry and logistical support units, will have to complete a six-month tour of duty in Iraq every 10 months. …”
A spokesman for the Defense Ministry said plans for the deployment of troops had been drawn up, but added: “Formal decisions have not yet been made.”
Twenty persons have been killed in Najaf, including soldiers from the United States and El Salvador, and more than 100 injured in fighting between troops and Sheik al-Sadr’s militia.
The rebel cleric has warned coalition troops that they will face suicide attacks if they attack Najaf.
The United States has avoided an all-out offensive against Najaf for fear of antagonizing Iraqis.
U.S. troops killed 64 members of Sheik al-Sadr’s militia in Kufa, a small town six miles to the northeast of Najaf on Monday night.
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