The Czech Defense Ministry said Friday it was considering redeploying the country's elite troops to Afghanistan. A unit of some 120 Czech elite soldiers who served in the U.S.-led operation against al-Qaida and Taliban fighters in Afghanistan ended their mission last year, The Associated Press reported. The ministry is considering sending the same unit to Afghanistan again, this time to participate in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, Defense Ministry spokesman Andrej Cirtek said. The soldiers could be deployed next year, Cirtek said. The move would have to be approved by the country's parliament. «The fight against terrorism is in the interest of the Czech Republic. It's in the interest of all NATO allies,» Cirtek said, declining to give further details about the possible mission. The Czech Republic currently has about 150 troops in Afghanistan, and plans to increase that to about 225 later this year.
