COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- Amid rising Taliban violence Denmark's Ministry of Defense has deployed an unidentified number of elite Special Forces soldiers to Afghanistan.
The new forces will provide cover for the 122 Danish troops there facing Taliban guerrilla attacks.
The Danish troops are part of the multinational International Security Assistance Force under North Atlantic Treaty Alliance command.
The Copenhagen Post reported on Aug. 24 that Danish ground troops in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan have been targeted by the Taliban forces on a nearly daily basis since arriving in July.
Danish Defense Minister Soren Gade said that the scope of the attacks was interfering with troops being able to conduct patrols, telling journalists, "We have sent a number of special forces out of recognition of the current situation in the camp at Musa Qala."
Since arriving in Helmand Taliban guerrillas have attacked the Danish force 50 times and wounded eight soldiers.
Head of operations Col. Henrik Sommer would not divulge further information, telling journalists, "Since we are dealing with an ongoing mission, we have instituted a restrictive information policy and will not provide details about how many specialists have been deployed."
Meanwhile, the Berlingske Tidende newspaper reported on Aug. 28 that in light of the rising violence the Danish military has withdrawn all of its troops from Musa Qala base in Afghanistan following massive attacks.
