US eyes 2,000 more troops for Afghanistan

Commander of the US-led forces in Afghanistan wants 2,000 extra troops in the country as foreign soldiers are experiencing their deadliest year since the 2001 invasion.

General David Petraeus claims the extra troops are intended to mainly train Afghan security forces, a NATO official said on Monday.

“There is now a discussion underway for additional resources, principally trainers, that could be sent to Afghanistan to bolster the mission,” AFP quoted the official as saying.

The mission comes in addition to the 30,000 extra troops sent by US President Barack Obama to bolster the unpopular war.

But Obama has also set July 2011 as the deadline for starting troops’ withdrawal from the war-ravaged country.

Reports say the request by Petraeus has been relayed to the transatlantic alliance’s 28 members and that it is up to individual governments to decide on whether to make contributions.

There are around 150,000 US-led foreign troops in the war-torn country.

Some 500 US-led soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan so far this year, making 2010 the deadliest year so far for foreign forces since they invaded the country nine years ago.