Spain to send over 500 troops to Afghanistan

Spain will send 511 soldiers to Afghanistan in the near future, local media said, quoting the country's defense minister.

In early December, U.S. President Barack Obama announced White House's plans to send an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan in the first part of 2010 to defeat the Taliban and establish law and order.

Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has called for NATO members to follow Washington's example.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and a separate U.S.-led coalition, involved in Operation Enduring Freedom, have a total of 112,000 troops in Afghanistan.

Spain currently has 998 servicemen permanently serving in the country. Other 70 Spanish servicemen provide security to Kabul airport on a temporary basis.

After a build-up, the Spanish contingent in the Islamic republic will exceed 1,500 troops.

Violence has surged in Afghanistan in recent months, with the radical Islamic Taliban group, which was toppled in a 2001 U.S.-led campaign, staging regular attacks on provincial government officials, police and civilians and planting roadside bombs to target Afghan, U.S. and NATO troops.

MADRID, December 18 (RIA Novosti)