The Swedish parliament today voted overwhelmingly to keep Sweden"s military contingent in Afghanistan for another year, according to dpa. Sweden has some 430 troops in northern Afghanistan, and the contingent was likely to increase to some 500 next year. The decision set a ceiling of 855 troops. The Swedish contingent with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) is based in Mazar-e-Sharif. The extension - which also hinges on formal approval to extend the ISAF mission by the United Nations Security Council - was approved by 245 parliamentarians, to 17 against, with 87 members absent. Only the opposition Left Party voted against extending the mission, saying the presence of armed forces from the United States and other countries fuelled the Taliban. The two other opposition parties, the Social Democrats and the Greens, called for a comprehensive review of the Swedish military engagement in Afghanistan prior to the next decision that is due in December 2010. Sweden is set to hold parliamentary elections in September. A week ago, an Afghan interpreter was killed while five Swedish soldiers were injured by a roadside bomb in northern Afghanistan.
