Nato gets more US troops

2006-10-02 09:05

Kabul - Nato will soon assume direct control over most military operations in Afghanistan, a move that will place 12 000 more US troops under its authority, a spokesperson for the alliance said.

The expansion will consolidate military command under top Nato leader British Lieutenant General David Richards and phase out the role of US Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry, whose troops will be transferred to Nato, alliance spokesperson Mark Laity said on Sunday in Kabul.

Of the 40 000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, only 8 000 US troops will function outside Nato control: those tracking al-Qaeda terrorists or involved in air operations, Laity said.

The overall level of American forces will remain around 20 000.

"In a few days, on a date yet to be declared, you will see the completion of the steady expansion of ISAF," the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force, Laity said.

Bagram prisons, interrogation centres

The command consolidation under Nato confines direct US control to a single chief enclave: the sprawling American base at Bagram. A US army helicopter unit based at Kandahar airfield also will remain under American oversight, Laity said.

US-operated prisons and interrogation centres at Bagram will remain under US command, while Nato will continue to transfer its detainees to Afghan police.

The Nato expansion into the east was not expected to happen for a few weeks. The alliance's troops took command of southern Afghanistan just two months ago and have struggled to stem escalating violence there.

Taliban resurgence

The Nato takeover caps an already historic expansion of missions for the largely European alliance that was created as a Cold War bulwark against the Soviet Union.

Nato has seen 45 soldiers killed since arriving in August 2003. Its combat role in southern Afghanistan is the largest the alliance has ever undertaken.

The Taliban have recently staged an unexpected resurgence and stepped up attacks, triggering major battles that have left more than a thousand dead in the past few months.

- AP