Polish troops short of APCs in Afghanistan

WARSAW, Poland, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Polish troops serving as part of the NATO peacekeeping force in Afghanistan won't get new armored personnel carriers as scheduled.

The Polish Dziennik daily Thursday said the delivery of eight APCs to replace vehicles destroyed in combat in Afghanistan will be late because the vehicles haven't been manufactured, Polish Radio reported.

The newspaper blamed the delay in the APCs delivery from January to the end of March to chaos in Poland's Defense Ministry and plants producing military equipment.

Janusz Zemke, former deputy Polish defense minister, said the delivery postponement could pose a danger to Polish troops, many of whom fight Taliban forces in Afghanistan.

Zemke said he visited Polish troops in Afghanistan on several occasions and saw how important Polish-made Rosomak personnel transporters are in protecting troops.

The Afghan version of Rosomak carriers, produced in Poland under the Finnish Patria armored vehicles' basic license, isn't easy to manufacture because it has more durable armor and special equipment that differ from a standard version.

There are about 1,200 Polish soldiers serving in Afghanistan within NATO's International Security Assistance Force.