The operation could start as early as next month and last for up to a year, according to press reports here.

Lawmakers were due to gather Tuesday afternoon to debate the government motion asking authorization to send soldiers to Iraq in line with a US request for military help, parliamentary sources said.

Sending Turkish soldiers abroad requires parliamentary approval.

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which has a large majority in parliament, was expected to call for a closed-door debate after the start of the session, scheduled for 1200 GMT, parliamentary sources added.

The motion, drawn up during a five-hour cabinet meeting on Monday, limits the duration of the deployment to a maximum of one year, but does not specify how many soldiers would be sent and to which part of Iraq.

But it does specify that Turkish troops would be in command in their own area.

"The situation in Iraq continues to be a threat to international peace and security," read the motion signed by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"It would not be a competent and responsible political approach for Turkey to ignore developments that could jeopardize its own security and basic interests," it added.

In Washington, the US State Department welcomed the government's decision to send troops.

"Turkey has an important role to play in stabilizing Iraq," said spokesman Richard Boucher, speaking to reporters late on Monday.

"We continue our discussions with Turkish authorities on the details of possible deployment, if parliament endorses the government's request," he said.

The popular Vatan daily said that 6,000 soldiers -- from units in Ankara and from the neighbouring province of Cankiri -- would initially be deployed, starting in November, if parliament gives the go-ahead.

The Turkish government sees military involvement in Iraq as a way to make up for its parliament's refusal on March 1 to allow the United States, its ally in NATO, to use its territory as a springboard to attack Iraq.

The no-vote delivered a heavy blow to US war plans and brought a chill to US-Turkish ties, which have only recently begun to thaw.

The AKP is eager to avoid a similar crisis this time around, and is expected to succeed in pushing through the motion in the 550-member house, where it has a majority of 367 seats.

The opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) has already made clear it will not approve sending soldiers to Iraq without a UN resolution.

There is also sharp public opposition to the idea with anti-war activists regularly taking to the streets in protest.

According to a poll released last week, nearly three quarters of Turks oppose contributing soldiers to a stabilisation force in Iraq.

The idea has also attracted the ire of the Iraqi Kurds who suspect Turkey of trying to control their northern Iraq enclave -- a claim which the Turkish government denied in the motion.

"The aim, function and basic targets of Turkey's temporary military presence in Iraq will remain" the establishment of public order, facilitating humanitarian aid and restoring the economic infrastructure, it said.

"Turkey has no other agenda in Iraq," it added.

The government believes that sending soldiers to Iraq will give Ankara a say in future developments, not only in its oil-rich neighbour but in the whole region.

Turkey also believes that sending troops will help it in its struggle against Kurdish rebels, 5,000 of whom are believed to be in hiding across the border in predominantly Kurdish northern Iraq.

"Turkey is absolutely determined to to take all measures to cleanse Iraq of PKK-KADEK elements and to prevent Iraqi soil from being used as a base by terrorists in the future," the motion said.

Washington and Ankara last week reached agreement on an unspecified "action plan", which includes military options, to eliminate the threat posed by PKK militants in Iraq.

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