500 more Troops on their way ...

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Gordon Brown will announce this afternoon that another 500 British Troops are to be sent to Afghanistan, along with extra equipment.

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The UK's armed forces have the vehicles and equipment needed to commit 500 more personnel to Afghanistan, Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth has said.

A ministerial committee is expected to be told by the chief of the defence staff that kit supplies are adequate.

This was one of three conditions Gordon Brown said must be met before he would send more troops. He will say if the others have been met later this week.

It comes a day before President Obama's announcement on US troop commitments.

Confirming the military had enough equipment, Mr Ainsworth said "a lot of work" had been done to make sure the conditions set by the prime minister had been met.




As well as the availability of equipment, Mr Brown said in October that Britain's Nato allies must agree to send more troops to share the burden, and Afghan President Hamid Karzai must also commit to train more local forces to fight alongside Western soldiers