PM 'to boost Afghanistan troops'

Gordon Brown is expected to announce that Britain is to send an extra 500 military personnel to Afghanistan.

The UK has about 9,000 soldiers in the country, the second-largest contingent after the US, but there have been calls for increases in Nato troop levels.

To date, there have been 221 deaths among UK forces there and the PM has faced some calls to bring troops home.

Mr Brown will address MPs at 1230 BST, after the first prime minister's questions of the parliamentary session.

He is expected to begin PMQs with a sombre tribute to British forces, reading out the names of the 37 servicemen who have died in Afghanistan since the last prime minister's questions in mid-July.

It is believed that Mr Brown will agree to the deployment of 500 more British troops but with some caveats.

The BBC's defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt said: "The prime minister will want assurances from military chiefs that the extra troops will be properly equipped.

"He'll also expect Britain's Nato partners to follow suit by offering more forces themselves."

Nato defense ministers are likely to discuss troop reinforcements at an informal meeting in Slovakia next week.

US President Barack Obama is currently considering a request by General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of international forces in Afghanistan, for up to 40,000 more international troops.

'Bold move'

Col Richard Kemp, a former commander in Afghanistan, welcomed the expected British reinforcements.

"We're talking about an extra battle group, almost certainly deploying into Task Force Helmand, which is the main British area in central Helmand, which will give the commanders there extra combat power."

He added: "I think we probably do need more than that, but it's a contribution.

"I think it's quite a bold decision by the prime minister to reinforce at this time and particularly in light of the fact that we've heard about shortages of equipment, so there's obviously a risk got to be taken with equipment in deploying these troops, but I think it's a good move and a bold move."

British forces have been in Afghanistan since October 2001. More than two-thirds are stationed in the southern province of Helmand, a Taliban stronghold.

Military commanders have said extra troops are needed to build on the progress of this summer's Operation Panther's Claw, in which UK forces helped to expel insurgents from key areas but sustained heavy casualties in the process.

Last week Mr Brown's spokesman said: "We have always said that more troops would have to be subject to a number of criteria - the feasibility of sending the right equipment, the right strategy internationally, and particularly this issue of 'Afghanisation' which the president and prime minister talked again about yesterday, and obviously proper burden-sharing."

Political issue

In his speech to the Conservative Party conference, leader David Cameron pledged to send more troops to Afghanistan to speed up the training of Afghan soldiers.

The Liberal Democrats have claimed the Afghan mission is "failing" and called for a new strategy and "a political surge" rather than more troops.

The question of troop numbers in Afghanistan has become highly politicized in recent months.

The ex-head of the Army, Sir Richard Dannatt, has claimed that No 10 turned down a request to send up to 2,000 more troops earlier this year - a suggestion Downing Street has denied.

Sir Richard recently agreed to advise the Conservatives on defense matters.