WASHINGTON, Oct 2, 2008 (AFP) - The United States has taken in 13,823 Iraqi refugees over the past year and promises to accept 17,000 more in the next 12 months, the State Department said on Thursday.

The US government touted the figure after coming under widespread criticism for moving too slowly to take in Iraqis forced to flee their war-torn country.

'By the end of the US government's fiscal year on September 30, 13,823 Iraqi refugees had arrived for resettlement in the United States, surpassing the target of 12,000,' the State Department said in a statement.

The figure marked an eightfold increase over the number admitted the previous year, 1,608, it said.

Congress as well as relief and other non-government organizations have demanded Washington step up its efforts to open the door to Iraqi refugees since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Millions of Iraqis have fled their homes since US-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein's regime, with many heading to neighboring countries such as Jordan and Syria.

About 9,000 of the refugees who arrived in the United States came from Jordan and Syria, the two countries hosting the highest number of Iraqi refugees, the State Department said.

The United States in the past year also spent 398 million dollars on humanitarian aid for four million Iraqis displaced in and outside the country, compared to 171 million in fiscal year 2007, it said.