The Dutch government on Friday offered to deploy 750 extra troops in Afghanistan to beef up NATO-led peacekeeping forces during parliamentary elections in September. The government said a 750-strong marine battalion was ready to join the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in northern Afghanistan during elections seen as the country's next big step on the rocky road to stability. The Dutch battalion is to be deployed from August until the end of October, pending NATO approval. "The Netherlands shall support the election process in the northern provinces of Afghanistan with a marine battalion," the government said. ISAF is a peacekeeping force of about 8,000 troops from 47 NATO and non-NATO countries. NATO took command of ISAF in 2003, its first mission outside its Europe-Atlantic area of operation. --More 2301 Local Time 2001 GMT
