Germany to send four AWACS planes to Afghanistan: official
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Berlin, Jun 12, IRNA -- Germany is to send four AWACS planes to Afghanistan aimed at securing the air space of the war-stricken country, a spokesperson for the German Defense Ministry said here Friday.
Talking to the press in Berlin, Christian Dienst confirmed earlier media reports that 'around four' AWACS planes would be dispatched to Afghanistan, provided the German Parliament approves such a military mandate.
He pointed to the likelihood that the AWACS aircrafts could be based in Turkey.
German soldiers are crucial for the AWACS mission in Afghanistan as some 40 percent of the 1,600-strong AWACS personnel at the Geilenkirchen air base are Germans.
NATO's military leaders in Afghanistan had reportedly asked the western military pact to send surveillance planes in a bid to combat the Taliban and al-Qaeda insurgency.
NATO owns a fleet of 17 Boeing-made Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) radar aircraft located in the west German town of Geilenkirchen.
Most Germans oppose the controversial Afghan military mission, according to various opinion polls.
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