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Poland to boost Afghanistan troops in wake of Bhutto assassination
Warsaw (AFP) Dec 28, 2007 Poland will boost its forces in Afghanistan by 400 troops to a total of 1,600 after the assassination of Pakistan's opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, Defence Minister Bogdan Klich said Friday. "The destabilisation of the situation in Pakistan and the danger that this instability will expand in the region and to Afghanistan has forced us to reinforce our military contingent," he told the commercial TVN24 news channel. Klich said the additional troops would be deployed in April or May. The minister also said that in the future Poland wanted to assume responsibilty for security operations in part of Afghanistan's Paktika province, bordering Pakistan. Around 180 of the extra soldiers will be tasked with maintaining eight helicopters Poland has vowed to send to Afghanistan. Poland currently has 1,200 soldiers deployed in the 36,000-strong United Nations-mandated and NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. An icon of Pakistan's democratic opposition and ex-prime minister, Bhutto was killed Thursday by a suicide bomber in Rawalpindi at an election campaign rally ahead of Pakistan's January 8 parliamentary election. The assassination has triggered rioting and political violence in various parts of the country which left more than 30 people dead. Related Links News From Across The Stans
Commentary: Pakistani suspects galore
Washington (UPI) Dec 27, 2007 Suspects in the assassination of Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto number in the tens of thousands. Some 800 Pakistanis have been killed by suicide bombers in the past year. Bhutto had a close brush with death Oct. 18, a few hours after returning from eight years of self-imposed exile in Dubai and London. The suicide bomber killed more than 140 people and injured 350, some a few feet from where she was sitting in a large vehicle. |
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