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Global

U.S. orders combat aviation troops to Afghanistan


    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defence Secretary Robert Gates has ordered a combat aviation brigade to Afghanistan as part of a buildup of forces to counter rising insurgent violence, a U.S. military official said on Friday.

    The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. Army brigade of about 2,800 soldiers, equipped with both attack and transport helicopters, would deploy next year.

    The brigade will form part of an increase of some 20,000 troops requested by U.S. Army Gen. David McKiernan, the top commander of all NATO and most U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

    McKiernan has asked for the extra troops to halt a growing insurgency made up of Taliban militants and other groups, particularly in the east and south of Afghanistan.

    He has also requested four more combat brigades of ground forces -- about 14,000 troops -- and extra support units.

    One of the ground combat brigades is scheduled to deploy in January and Gates, who will continue as Pentagon chief under President-elect Barack Obama, told reporters last week he expected to provide two more by late spring.

    The United States has some 31,000 troops in Afghanistan, some of them operating independently and some operating as part of a 51,000-strong NATO-led security assistance force.

    (Reporting by Andrew Gray; Editing by Kristin Roberts)