Hungary will take over command of Kabul international airport from October and plans to send more troops to Afghanistan in 2009 as part of its commitment to NATO, Defence Minister Imre Szekeres said on Sunday. Szekeres told Reuters by telephone from Afghanistan that Hungary would send 60 troops to take over command of Kabul airport for a period of six months. "This will be an especially complex military task," Szekeres said, adding that Hungarian troops would be in charge of both military and civil aviation. Szekeres visited Hungarian troops in Afghanistan and also held talks with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission. He said Hungary planned in early 2009 to send two teams of around 20 soldiers each -- one to the south and another to the northern Baghlan province -- to train Afghan army units. Szekeres said there was cross-party support in parliament for the mission. Hungary, a NATO member since 1999, already has 210 troops in Baghlan province helping with reconstruction work.
