'More troops are needed' to train Afghans

Published on Monday 6 September 2010 15:29

General David Petraeus, the top US and Nato commander in Afghanistan, is asking for 2,000 more soldiers to join the 140,000-strong international force there.

Officials said last night that nearly half would be employed as trainers for the rapidly expanding Afghan security forces and would include troops trained to neutralise roadside bombs that have been responsible for about 60 per cent of the 2,000 allied deaths in the war.

With casualties rising, the war has become deeply unpopular in many of Nato's 28 member countries, suggesting the additional forces will have to come from the US.

In Europe, polls show the majority of voters consider it an unnecessary drain on finances at a time of sharp cuts in public spending and other austerity measures.

The additional trainers are considered essential to meet the goal of increasing Afghanistan's army and police from the present 300,000 members to 400,000 by next year, when the drawdown of international troops is expected to start.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Afghans shouted anti-American slogans to protest against plans by a Florida church to burn the Koran on Saturday to mark the anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks.

The US embassy in Kabul issued a statement condemning the Dove World Outreach Centre's plans

Meanwhile, police said they were investigating the stabbing to death of well-known Afghan journalist Sayed Hamid Noori outside his Kabul home Sunday night..