Turkey extends military presence in Afghanistan

TEHRAN(defapress)– Turkish parliament has approved a motion to extend the country's troops deployment in Afghanistan for another two years, Anadolu News Agency said.

News ID: 74570

Date: 26 December 2018 - 12:03

According to the Turkish News Agency, the decision is part of the NATO-backed mission in Afghanistan.

'A legislation will put into effect on Jan. 6, 2019, allowing the Turkish government to send troops to Afghanistan to support the NATO-led mission Resolute Support,' Anadolu went on to say.

Meanwhile, the legislation gives leeway to Ankara to allow transporting foreign army personnel from Afghanistan through Turkey.

The Turkish government also aims to increase the number of its troops in Afghanistan from 700 to 750.

After 17 years, the International Security Assistance Force operations which included training and advising new Afghan security forces will come to an end in 2018.

Around 12,000 foreign troops from 28 NATO member states and 14 other allies have reached an agreement on supporting the NATO mission in Afghanistan.

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