Australia's government to send more troops to Afghanistan

Australia's government to send more troops to Afghanistan

About 240 Australian troops, of which half will be engineers, electricians and other technicians, are preparing to head to Uruzgan province to work with Dutch troops on reconstruction projects.

Defense Minister Brendan Nelson said additional troops were preparing to go, but would not say how many, according to the AP.

Prime Minister John Howard will announce the revised troop numbers next week when Parliament resumes after a winter break, the minister said.

Australia already has 300 troops in Afghanistan, including 190 special forces soldiers sent last September to bolster security for elections that month, the AP reports.