Despite a summer deadline to pull American combat troops from Iraqi cities, thousands will remain to support and train Iraqi forces, the top U.S. commander in Iraq confirmed on Saturday.

Gen. Ray Odierno said he expects troops operating alongside the Iraqis will remain "after the summer" in urban centres in joint security operations.

The general was speaking to reporters at the U.S. base in Balad, north of Baghdad, before welcoming Defence Secretary Robert Gates.

Gates later told troops at the base that the United States is now in the "end game" in Iraq. He said the mission is on track to meet its timetable for a withdrawal.

"We are, I believe, in terms of the American commitment, in the end game. The June 30 date was the date we gave them, not vice versa," he said.

A security pact with the Iraqi government, which will be put to a referendum next year, stipulates the Americans will be out of cities and towns by June, and out of the country by 2011.

Earlier in the week, an Iraqi government spokesman said the Baghdad government would be open to negotiations that would keep troops in Iraq past the agreed upon withdrawal date.

Ali al-Dabbagh, on a visit to Washington, said Iraqi security forces might need 10 years to get ready to take over from U.S. troops.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's office said in a written statement Saturday that al-Dabbagh was expressing only an opinion that did not represent government policy.

Odierno said he will make recommendations soon on how many troops the U.S. can withdraw from Iraq early next year.

There are about 149,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. That is more than 10,000 higher than before the buildup President George W. Bush ordered in early 2007.

With files from the Associated Press