BAGHDAD, Jan. 2 (Xinhuanet) -- The United States deployed a new contingent in Iraq's northern city of Mosul on Friday ahead of the nationwide elections to strengthen the security, said a US military statement early on Sunday.

An elderly Iraqi shows his ID papers to a US Marine on patrol in the destroyed city of Fallujah. The United States deployed a new contingent in Iraq's northern city of Mosul on Friday ahead of the nationwide elections to strengthen the security. (AFP)

    "Elements of the 82nd Airborne Division arrived in Mosul yesterday in an effort to provide enhanced security and stability for the January 30 elections," said the statement.

    It didn't give any details about the size of the force, but General John Abizaid, the senior US military commander for Iraq, said earlier that about 6,000 to 8,000 new troops would be deployed in Mosul ahead of the legislative vote.

    In Baghdad, an additional 5,000 US troops, including about 1,500 from the 82nd, have been deployed ahead of the vote. The totalnumber of US troops in Iraq has reportedly been expanded from 138,000 to 150,000 for the elections.

    On Dec. 21, at a US military base in Mosul, 22 people were killed during a suicide bombing, which worsen the worries over the security situation of the coming vote.

    Three Iraqi militant groups -- the Army of Ansar al-Sunnah, Islamic Army in Iraq and Army of the Mujahideen released a statement on Dec. 30, which threatened to attack Iraqis who will take part in the general elections due on Jan. 30, 2005.

    On Dec. 27, the Qatar-based al-Jazeera television aired an audio tape purportedly from al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden who called for a boycott of the polls and for holy war against US forces and the government in Iraq. Enditem