More British Troops Will Be Sent To Afghanistan

Britain will send dozens more troops to Afghanistan as the country's security situation continues to deteriorate.

David Cameron, attending the NATO summit in Warsaw this weekend, will announce the deployment of up to 50 more military personnel.

There are still 450 British troops in Afghanistan, who had been due to return the the UK at the end of this year but will now have their tours extended into next year.

The 50 additional personnel will mostly help to train the Afghan security forces: 21 will join the counter-terrorism missions, 13 will join the NATO Resolute Support mission and 15 will be involved in leadership training at the Afghan army's officer training academy.

The UK handed control of the country to Afghan troops in October 2014, after a war that cost the lives of 453 soldiers.

At the time, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said that Afghanistan was "no longer a safe haven for terrorists".

A British Government source, however, said that the additional deployments were "a reflection of the fact that there is still a job to be done in Afghanistan".

They said: "While (Afghan security forces) have made tremendous strides in recent years, it is clear that they still need our support - not in a combat capacity but in a NATO mission capacity of training and mentoring and generally improving their means of operation."

British officials said the UK would not be taking part in combat operations against the resurgent Taliban.

Britain will also commit an extra £178m to the Afghan government, on top of the £70m it has committed to the Afghan security forces until 2020.

Mr Cameron said he was determined that Britain should continue to play a leading role in the world, despite its recent vote to leave the European Union.

"Britain is not going to be playing a lesser role in the world. We will make sure that we use our strength, including through NATO, to spread British values and the things that we believe in," he said.

He added that NATO must continue to "work with the Afghan government and the Afghan security forces to help keep terrorists out of that country".

The news comes after US President Barack Obama announced that he will keep the remaining 8,400 US troops in Afghanistan for the rest of his presidency.