The United States will send an additional force of about 3,200 Marines to Afghanistan this spring to help NATO troops and Afghan security forces confront rising Taliban violence, the Pentagon said today.
The US troop expansion, which increases the number of US forces deployed to Afghanistan by more than 10 per cent, follows months of US efforts to persuade NATO allies to provide extra combat forces.
Violence has surged in Afghanistan over the past two years, with the hard-line Islamist Taliban fighting a guerrilla war in the south and east and carrying out high-profile suicide and car bombings across the country.
Extra US combat forces are needed to help thwart an expected offensive by Taliban militants as snows melt in the coming months, US defense officials say.
President George W Bush approved the Marine deployment on the recommendation of Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
The Pentagon said 2,200 troops from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit will be sent to southern Afghanistan to serve under the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF.
About 1,000 Marines from another battalion will expand the training Afghan national security forces.
The move, which was widely expected, suggests the Bush administration cannot expect NATO to provide a large share of extra combat forces needed in Afghanistan, analysts said.
The United States has about 27,000 troops in Afghanistan -- the most since leading the 2001 invasion. About half serve in a 40,000-strong NATO-led force, while the rest conduct missions ranging from counterterrorism to training Afghan troops.