Britain to send 700 more to Afghanistan

LONDON, April 29 (UPI) -- Britain will send 700 more troops to Afghanistan mainly to provide security during upcoming elections, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Wednesday.

Brown said the extra forces would be withdrawn by early next year, The New York Times reported. Once the 700 soldiers are in Afghanistan, Britain will have a force of 9,000 there.

"For Afghanistan, our strategy is to ensure the country is strong enough as a democracy to withstand and overcome the terrorist threat," Brown said.

Brown recently returned from Afghanistan and Pakistan. Speaking to Parliament, he suggested he agrees with U.S. President Barack Obama that there is one fight in the two countries.

"The greatest international priority is the border areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan," Brown told Parliament. "They are the crucible of global terrorism. They are the breeding ground for international terrorists. They are the source of a chain of terror, which links the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan to the streets of Britain."