Number of Czech troops in Afghanistan to rise

The number of Czech troops in Afghanistan will rise by about 70 due to the planned Czech leadership of the Provincial Reconstruction Team in the Afghan province of Loghar, Chief of Staff Vlastimil Picek said today. At present, the Czech army has 225 soldiers in Afghanistan. They operate in the field hospital in Kabul and in the reconstruction team in the northern province of Badakhshan. The deployment of the Provincial Reconstruction Team is to cost 650 million crowns (30 million USD) and is yet to be approved by the parliament.