The British government is expected to send 3,500 additional troops to Afghanistan by May when it takes over control of NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in the country, media reports said Wednesday according to Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa). But while the BBC and several newspapers published details of the increased British deployment, Defence Secretary John Reid insisted that no final decision had been taken. He would make an announcement in parliament Thursday following cabinet discussions, Reid told MP's Wednesday. About 850 British soldiers are currently stationed in Afghanistan. The aim is to increase the overall number of ISAF forces from currently 9,200 to 15,000. Reid said he had not finally decided the details of deployment to the troubled south of the country, where experts believe British troops could be drawn into "counter-insurgency" missions. Reid said he was "not yet satisfied" that Britain's NATO allies had committed the right troops to the operation, and would continue discussions with them over the next 24 hours before making his decision. --SP 20 25 Local Time 17 25 GMT
