Britain to Send 500 More Troops to Afghanistan
By VOA News
14 October 2009
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced plans to send an additional 500 troops to Afghanistan.
Mr. Brown said Wednesday that the troops will be sent on the condition that the right equipment is in place, the Afghan government speeds up the training of its soldiers, and that NATO allies also increase their troop levels.
Britain's force is the second largest in the country after the United States, which currently has posted about 65,000 troops there. The increase will bring the total number of British forces to 9,500.
U.S. President Barack Obama is currently considering a request by the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, for 40,000 additional troops. Mr. Obama is expected to meet with top advisors Wednesday to discuss their strategy for the Afghan war.
Public support for the war has been declining in both Britain and the United States, following the deadliest year for foreign troops since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001.
In violence Wednesday, Afghan officials say more than 40 Taliban militants were killed during operations across the country.
The interior ministry says Afghan and U.S. troops killed 30 Taliban insurgents during a joint operation in southern Uruzgan province on Tuesday. A similar offensive killed 11 insurgents in Ghazni province, south of Kabul.
Meanwhile, a roadside bomb killed two Afghan soldiers, and wounded six others in Zabul province. Also, four militants were killed by their own explosive devices in the country's south.
Earlier Wednesday, NATO said Afghan and international forces killed a Taliban commander in southeastern Afghanistan.
NATO said the man had not complied with the force's commands and acted in a hostile manner during a search Tuesday near Qalat City in Zabul province. Troops later identified him as a wanted Taliban commander.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, Reuters.
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