Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz at the press conference on Dec. 28, 2005. (Photo: Xinhua/REUTERS)

    WARSAW, Dec. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- The Polish government requested President Lech Kaczynski to extend Poland's military mission in Iraq until the end of 2006, said Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz on Tuesday.

    He said that Polish authorities were asked to prolong the mission by the Iraqi government and "allies from stabilization mission". Polish soldiers were first sent to Iraq in September 2003.

    Deputy Minister of Defense Stanislaw Koziej reported that the Polish contingent should be reduced in March from the present 1,450 men to 900.

    The deployment is unpopular, and 17 Polish soldiers have died.

    Under Polish law, the President approves overseas military deployments as the armed forces' commander in chief. Lech Kaczynski, who took the President's office last week, has to decide until the end of the month. Enditem