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Czech Republic to send more soldiers to Afghanistan

By Xinhua

Prague : The Czech Republic will agree to a US request to send an elite military unit to Afghanistan, Czech Defence Minister Vlasta Parkanova has said.

The 100-member-strong unit will be additional to the 415 troops approved by the parliament last autumn to be deployed in Afghanistan, Parkanova said Friday.

It mainly involves members of the special forces unit from Prostejov, which had operated twice in Afghanistan, and is under the direct command of the defence minister, the Czech news agency CTK reported.

Earlier in 2004, the unit worked under the Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

In both the missions, it performed reconnaissance and information transfer tasks. The Czech soldiers also fought in combat operations.

It is reported that the Czech army would have more than 500 troops in Afghanistan by the end of 2008.