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More British troops fly to Kabul

LONDON, England -- A further 300 British military personnel have flown to the Afghan capital, Kabul.

The new deployment, which brings to around 500 the total number of British troops in Kabul, have been tasked with preparing facilities for the planned multi-national security force.

In particular they will be repairing the bomb-damaged airstrip at Bagram airport just to the north of the city.

In addition, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed that the UK will host a further planning conference of senior military personnel from the countries which will contribute to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) on Friday.

A spokesman said the conference, at an undisclosed location, was intended to sort out the "nuts and bolts" of the force.

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Although the details of which countries will contribute what forces have yet to be finalised, France, Germany and Canada are all expected to send personnel to serve alongside the British forces.

Repairs to landing strip

The MoD said the repair work on the airport to be done by the new influx of British personnel would "greatly ease the deployment and sustainment of the main body" of the ISAF.

The landing strip at Bagram was badly damaged by sustained U.S. bombing during the initial phase of the military campaign in Afghanistan, and the additional British personnel will be engaged largely in getting it back into a usable state.

They will ensure also that all the necessary support facilities are in place for the ISAF, which is expected to number up to 6,000 troops in all and which will be led, initially, by a British contingent of around 1,500.

The team which flew out on Wednesday was drawn from Headquarters 3 (UK) Division and Royal Marines of 40 Commando -- the same units which provided the 200 British troops who are already in Kabul, patrolling the streets and providing visible support to the recently established interim administration.