The top US commander in Iraq has requested about 2,200 more American troops for Iraq, to help oversee detainees there, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday.

The new request, which came from David Petraeus, the new top US commander in Iraq who assumed command last month, was in addition to the 21,500 combat troops that were being sent to Iraq as part of President George W. Bush's security plan and the 2,400 support troops.

The new commander had requested for additional troops to help oversee detainees, the number of which was expected to increase as US troops were implementing Bush's security plan for Iraq, Gates said at a news briefing.

Gates said the number of support troops for the combat units would be about 10 to 15 percent of the reinforcement of 21,500 soldiers, and that at the present, the size of the combat support units was about 2,400.

"We're in that range. The size of the combat support units at this point are about 2,400," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency March 8, 2007)