Berlin: The US is sending around 2,000
troops to northern Afghanistan to help German soldiers there
battle insurgents and train Afghan security forces, the German
regional commander said on Thursday.
"The US government is sending a contingent of around
2,000 soldiers to northern Afghanistan, in particular to train
the Afghan police and principally to assist in operations,"
Brigadier General Frank Leidenberger told the Frankfurter
Allgemeine daily in an interview.
He said they would include around 1,000 soldiers,
engineers and army air corps, assisted by just over 30
transport and assault helicopters, stationed mostly at the
main German base in Mazar-i-Sharif in Kunduz province.
The US troops "will greatly improve our operational
capabilities," Leidenberger said, particularly with the use of
US helicopters that can fly at night.
Germany has around 4,300 troops in northern
Afghanistan, the third-largest foreign contingent in the
country after the US and Britain, which despite being calmer
than the south and east of the country has seen an upsurge
in insurgent activity, making reconstruction work increasingly
difficult.
Following US President Barack Obama's decision to send
another 30,000 US troops to Afghanistan, Berlin announced
plans last month to send another 500 soldiers and 350 new
reservists, as well as a doubling of development aid to USD
590 million over 2010-2013.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, February 11, 2010, 19:37