The move comes as US President George W. Bush is under increasing domestic pressure to set a timetable for the pullout of American forces in the face of an increasing death toll at the hands of insurgents.

Eighty-two Shiite, Kurdish, Sunni Arab, Christian and communist deputies made the call in a letter sent by Falah Hassan Shanshal of the United Iraqi Alliance (UIA), the largest group in parliament, to speaker Hajem al-Hassani.

Some of those who signed urged that a detailed timetable be established for the withdrawal.

There are currently about 160,000 foreign troops in Iraq, including a 138,000-strong US force, which has borne the brunt of attacks against coalition forces.

In the letter, Shanshal said the 275-member parliament was the Iraqi people's legitimate representative and guardian of their interests.

"We have asked in several sessions for occupation troops to withdraw," the letter said. "Our request was ignored."

"It is dangerous that the Iraqi government has asked the UN Security Council to prolong the stay of occupation forces without consulting representatives of the people who have the mandate for such a decision.

"Therefore we must reject the occupation's legitimacy and renew our demand for these forces to withdraw," the letter added.

The UN Security Council agreed on May 31 to extend the mandate of multinational forces in Iraq "until the completion of the political process" following a request from the Iraqi government.

"Iraqi security forces have managed to break the back of terrorist groups and maintain security in the streets of Iraq, and have gained the trust of Iraqi citizens to arrive at their final goal, total sovereignty for Iraq."

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