Australian troops to stay in Iraq until 2007-paper

CANBERRA, Mar 7 (Reuters) Australia has committed its forces to remain in Iraq until 2007, a newspaper reported today, as Australia's new Defence Minister Brendan Nelson completed his first visit to the troubled country.

Australia has about 450 troops in the southern al Muthanna province, providing security for Japanese engineers. Nelson has previously signalled those forces would stay on if Japan ended its deployment in May.

But The Australian newspaper said Nelson had now committed the troops until 2007.

''We will most certainly be committed to remaining in the south of Iraq well into next year,'' it quoted him as saying.

Nelson, who was appointed in January, visited some of the 1,300 Australian forces deployed in and around Iraq and met Iraqi defence officials in Baghdad during the trip.

He said Australia was committed to helping to rebuild and stabilise Iraq, and that the Iraqi government strongly supported Australia's deployment.

''The Australian government is committed to completing the task at hand in Iraq. While a lot has been achieved, much remains to be done,'' Nelson said in a statement issued by his office in Australia.

His comments come as Britain's military chiefs outline plans to withdraw nearly all of Britain's forces from Iraq by mid-2008.

REUTERS VJ RK0820