New Delhi: About 2,000 young men aged between 18 and 25 years have been imparted arms training in Pakistan by Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) for being sent to Iraq to carry out suicide operations against the US-led forces, a newspaper report said.

The Pakistan-based terrorist organisation (LeT) has set up a "full-blown unit for suicide squad operations against the western forces" in Iraq, the 'South Asia Tribune' said, adding that most of the 2,000 men have come from the ranks of seminary students at Muridke, where LeT's over-ground political patron organisation, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, is headquartered.

Some of them have also been raised from the Binori Town seminary at Karachi, it said.

In April this year, a key LeT commander, Danish Ahmed, was caught by the allied troops in Iraq. He had played a crucial role in LeT operations in Jammu and Kashmir since 1999 and was operating under the name of Abdul Rehman al-Dakhil.

The report said at a recent meeting, Lashkar's overall head, Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, had called for sending 'mujahids' (religious volunteers) from Pakistan to Iraq to help the Iraqis fight the "evil forces".

Official sources in New Delhi said an estimated 3,000 youths were being trained at about 120 training camps spread in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) and several hundreds waiting to cross over into Jammu & Kashmir as the snow melted.

The sources said about 90 militants have crossed over to Jammu and Kashmir in June compared with 28 in May 2004.