Stoltenberg: NATO may boost its presence in Afghanistan

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NATO is considering sending additional military personnel to Afghanistan and increasing the timeframe of the deployment in the view of the "challenging security situation," the alliance's secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, told the German Die Welt daily.

The additional troops are expected to join the NATO Resolute Support mission which it says is aimed at training, assisting and advising Afghan security forces in their fight against violent insurgents and various extremist groups.

The 'training' mission, after the majority of 'combat' troops were withdrawn, currently involves 13,000 servicemen, with around 8,400 of them being from the US.

The decision concerning further troops deployment is to be taken by June, Stoltenberg told Die Welt.

The military alliance is also expected to approve a new prolonged deployment procedure, he said. Instead of...