Asked by reporters in northern Cyprus to confirm media reports of the impending expulsion, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said the three diplomats had been asked to leave because they had been engaged in "activities exceeding their duties".

Gul said the Turkish police and intelligence services were conducting investigations into the Iraqi envoys' activities. But he said the three had not been declared "persona non grata" as Turkish NTV television had earlier claimed.

The diplomats have been told to leave the country "as soon as possible", a government official speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP earlier.

The official did not identify the diplomats but NTV and the semi-official Anatolia news agency said they were were the embassy's first and second secretaries -- Mouhammed Hikmet and Sabah Al-Douri -- and deputy trade attache Ahmet Matloub.

The United States last month appealed to all countries to expel Iraqi diplomats, as it sent its military to invade Iraq.

Turkey's decision to expel the envoys, who are part of the Iraqi embassy's 20-person staff, was announced three days after US Secretary of State Colin Powell held talks with government ministers in Ankara.

The Turkish parliament's refusal to allow US forces to invade neighbouring Iraq from its territory has strained relations between Washington and Ankara.

NTV said the government had not so far responded to a US request for a freeze on Iraqi assets held by Turkish financial institutions.

SPACE.WIRE