Of the 443 soldiers stationed at Lima camp in Karbala, which was hit by a truck bomb on Saturday, 250 are army engineers and 50 are combat troops.

"We may reduce the army engineers to 200 and send an extra 30 combat soldiers," army commander Gen. Chaisit Shinawatra said. There would also be extra medics, although the total size of the contingent would be unchanged.

There were not enough combat troops to protect both the camp and the medics who make door-to-door visits, he said.

The army also plans to upgrade the troops' weaponry to include rocket-propelled grenades, machineguns and mortars. Thai soldiers guarding the camp were now armed only with M-16 and HK-33 assault rifles.

Lt. Gen. Pitsanu Ourailert, chief of the Joint Civil Affairs Directorate, said the attackers hit the weakest point of the camp perimeter.

"Sentry box No. 5 is close to the village. The attackers knew the soldiers could not fire towards the village, and they used it as a shield," he said.