BRUSSELS, April 5 (UPI) -- France is to station an aircraft carrier in the Indian Ocean from mid-May to provide aerial support to NATO troops deploying in Afghanistan.
The Brussels-based military alliance is currently in the process of boosting troop numbers in Afghanistan from 8,000 to 17,000 as the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force moves into volatile southern and eastern provinces. Most of the soldiers for ISAF's third-stage expansion are from Britain, the United States, Canada, the Netherlands and Denmark.
The Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, which is currently carrying out military exercises in the Indian Ocean, will stay in theater after mid-May to provide NATO troops with extra strike capability if they run into difficulties. Alliance spokesman James Appathurai told reporters Wednesday that the French vessel would provide "robust capabilities to ensure stability and security through the Stage Three expansion."
ISAF has strike aircraft at its disposal in Afghanistan -- as does the U.S.-led Operation Enduring Freedom, which is hunting down Taliban and al-Qaida remnants in the mountainous east of the country. But with insurgent attacks mounting and thousands of troops on the move, the French deployment will bring added firepower to enforce ISAF's more muscular mandate in the war-ravaged state.
