NATO leader holds meetings in Singapore

SINGAPORE, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- A top NATO official concluded meetings in Singapore Tuesday in a visit aimed at discussing the country's involvement in Afghanistan.

Gen. Bantz Craddock, NATO supreme allied commander Europe, met with top defense officials including Singapore Defense Minister Teo Chee Hean and the country's chief of defense force, Lt. Gen. Desmond Kuek, the Singapore Ministry of Defense reported.

The meetings were part of an effort to discuss Singapore's ongoing participation in the International Security Assistance Force operating in Afghanistan.

As supreme allied commander Europe, Craddock is responsible for NATO's overall operations. The NATO-led ISAF operations in Afghanistan increasingly have come under militant fire as units push farther into the southern regions where the Taliban and other terrorist organizations remain strong.

Officials say the two-day visit with Kuek and Hean was designed to address the Singapore armed forces' continuing involvement in "multinational stabilization and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan," the release said.