Bangkok, Sept 24: Thailand will send 422 troops to Iraq next week to aid in the country's postwar reconstruction, a military official today said. They will be dispatched in two groups, on Sunday and Tuesday, for a six-month mission, said Capt. Ittipol Pinpong, a Thai military spokesman.

The troops, who are not expected to take part in combat operations, will be replaced by another team of the same size after their tour is complete. The Thais will be deployed around Karbala, about 100 kilometers south of Baghdad, and will be among 8,000 troops from 17 countries under the command of Poland.

They will help rebuild roads, buildings and utility infrastructure destroyed during the war. They also will provide medical services. There are currently more than 20,000 troops or security officers in Iraq from 26 nations, most of them organised under two peacekeeping contingents: The British in the south and the poles in central Iraq.

Thailand, which sent a 21-man advance team to Iraq on September 4, also sent troops to help in the reconstruction of Afghanistan and took part in a recent peacekeeping operation in East Timor. Bureau Report