BAGHDAD - US FORCES will be deployed to southern Iraq to replace British troops who are due to leave by the end of July, the commander of the US-led military in Iraq General Raymond Odierno said on Monday.

'It is important that we provide some forces to lend oversight in southern Iraq,' Gen Odierno told AFP, without giving any figures on the number to be deployed.

'Clearly, the Iraqi security forces are playing the major role in security for the area. We want to maintain ongoing training and continuity of communications with the Iraqi security forces to ensure that we can respond to their requests for assistance,' he added.

During a surprise visit to Iraq last week, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced that his country's troops would wrap up their mission by the end of May and later said that all but 400 would be out by the end of July.

There currently 4,100 British troops in Iraq concentrated around Basra airport in southern Iraq.

The Iraqi parliament is set to vote on Monday authorising the government to sign agreements directly on the presence of the non-US foreign troops when a UN mandate expires at the end of the year.

In addition to Britain, Australia, Estonia, Romania and El Salvador also have small numbers of troops in Iraq.

The Americans, which make up 95 per cent of the foreign forces in Iraq, have already signed a security pact with the Iraqis providing for a full withdrawal by the end of 2011. -- AFP