Britain to reinforce military forces in Afghanistan

The Defense Ministry confirmed on Sunday that Defense Secretary Des Browne would inform that house "about the deployment of additional personnel and equipment."

Prime Minister Tony Blair told reporters that Afghanistan posed a severe test, the AP reports.

Six British servicemen have been killed in the province in a month and Browne acknowledged on Saturday that a British deployment into the south had "energized opposition" from a resurgent Taliban.

Britain has around 5,000 troops based in Afghanistan, with 3,000 of those currently based in Helmand, where soldiers will begin a NATO-led peacekeeping mission at the end of July.