More US Marines To Deploy For Afghanistan Mission

The US plans to deploy additional marines to southern Afghanistan with the aim of protecting recent gains by NATO.

The US is to send an additional 1,400 marines to southern Afghanistan in an effort to counter a Taliban offensive, a Pentagon official has said.

The marines are now being notified of the deployment and are scheduled to leave within several weeks, the defence department said.

The US hopes to "apply pressure on the enemy during the winter", a department spokesman said.

The US plans to begin withdrawing troops from the country in July.

Defence secretary Robert Gates had "approved additional marine forces to southern Afghanistan to exploit and consolidate gains already achieved and apply pressure on the enemy during the winter campaign", Defence Department spokesman Col Dave Lapan said.

The contingent could start arriving within weeks and is expected to be on the ground for a short mission of about 90 days.

By: Shelldrake