Britain to send more military forces to Afghanistan

Britain said Thursday it will send around 4.000 additional troops to Afghanistan in the coming months when it takes command of a NATO mission expanding into one of the most dangerous parts of the country.

Britain's Defense Secretary John Reid told the House of Commons that over the coming months the total number of British troops in the country would peak at 5,700, but would drop to 4,700 when a contingent of engineers had completed building a base for troops.

Currently there are around 1.000 British soldiers in Afghanistan. "We cannot risk Afghanistan once again becoming a sanctuary for terrorists," Reid told the House of Commons. "We cannot ignore the opportunity to bring security to a fragile but vital part of the world", reports the AP.

D.M.