French troops arrive in ex-Soviet state of Kyrgyzstan

Some 50 French military personnel arrived at an anti-terror coalition air base in Kyrgyzstan to participate in local security operations before parliamentary elections in Afghanistan.

U.S. Air Force Captain Alysia Harvey said the French air force troops had arrived during the past few days, and planned to stay for about three months at the U.S.-led base outside the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek.

Harvey declined to say how many and what type of aircraft the French had brought, "for operational security reasons."

The Manas base hosts about 1,000 U.S. troops to support combat operations in Afghanistan.

Authorities in neighboring Uzbekistan demanded last week that U.S. troops pull out of a base in the country's south within 180 days, the AP reports.