Australia promises 30 more troops for NATO's Afghanistan mission

Australia will send an additional 30 troops to join the NATO-led training and assistance mission in Afghanistan, bringing its total deployment there to 300. 

Defense Minister Marise Payne said today that NATO requested more troops last month as US President Donald Trump considers whether to expand the operation by several thousand, 16 years into the seemingly intractable war against the Taliban and other Islamist militants. 

Australia is



not a member of NATO but is a staunch US ally and has had troops in Afghanistan since 2002.In February, US General John Nicholson, the commander of NATO's Resolute Support mission, requested several thousand more international troops to break a stalemate against the Taliban, the remnants of al Qaeda, Islamic State and other Islamist groups. 

The NATO force currently stands at about 15,000 troops, including about 8,400 US military personnel.