Arizona senator John McCain told NBC television that as many as 50,000 more US soldiers will have to be sent to Iraq.

"We still need more troops. We still need more people there," US Senator John McCain told NBC television Sunday.

When asked how many additional forces would have to be deployed, the maverick Republican senator answered "I would say at least 40,000 or 50,000 more," adding that it will likely also be necessary to increase the size of the army and the marine corps.

"I believe those reports of those young Marines that said, 'Look unless we keep a significant presence here, (the insurgents) are going to filter back in'," McCain said, but acknowledging that finding additional manpower "is an enormous strain."

He made his comments as US and Iraqi troops continued to hunt down insurgents in Baghdad and other parts of the country following a massive operation on the Sunni Muslim stronghold of Fallujah where 1,450 suspects have been rounded up.

At least seven people were killed as violence flared in several Sunni Muslim towns on Sunday.

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