The US military plans to keep more than 20,000 troops from the 1st Armored Division and 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment in Iraq this summer beyond their promised year-long tours.
Officials said final plans were being considered by Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld based on a request from Army General John Abizaid, head of the US Central Command with responsibility for Iraq.
President George W Bush vowed earlier this week to stay the course in Iraq, where 135,000 US troops are now stationed, many involved in fighting with insurgents that has killed more than 80 US soldiers this month.
The number of US troops in Iraq is swollen by an ongoing rotation that was supposed to reduce the number to about 110,000 when it ended in early May.
But one senior official said last night the total in Iraq was now likely to remain at more than 130,000 for another three months as about 18,000 from the 1st Armored Division based in Germany and more than 2,000 from the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment based at Fort Polk, Louisiana, remain in Iraq along with supporting units.
All US troops in Iraq have been sent there under a promise to be brought home after a year.