London sends more troops to train Afghans

LONDON, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- Building an independent Afghan military is the best way to make sure British troops can return to the United Kingdom, the British defense secretary declared.

During the summer, British forces transferred security responsibility in parts of Helmand province to their U.S. counterparts so they could focus on security development in the central part of the province.

Nevertheless, British Defense Secretary Liam Fox said that more than 320 additional British troops were designated to train the Afghan military.

"Developing the capacity and capability of Afghan national security forces is the best way to ensure the long-term security and stability of Afghanistan, which will ultimately allow us to bring U.K. troops home," he said in a statement.

"It is important that we, and other coalition partners, meet NATO's request for more personnel devoted to training the Afghan national security forces," Fox said.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said his country could take over responsibility of security operations in the country as early as 2014.

The additional troop commitment from the British secretary means the troop commitment in Afghanistan is still fewer than 9,500, the British Ministry of Defense said.