US troops' language bonus boosted

The US needs soldiers who can communicate with locals abroad

US soldiers who know a language other than English are to have their bonus payments from the military increased - in some cases by more than threefold.

The US is desperately short of troops who speak the local language in war zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

Under the new offer, soldiers can earn as much as $12,000 (£6,400) extra a year for speaking a foreign language.

The US military listed Arabic, Dari, Pashtu and Mandarin Chinese among the languages it needs soldiers to speak.

Soldiers on active duty who qualify for the new bonus can receive up to $1,000 (£538) extra a month, while qualified National Guard soldiers and reservists can earn up to $500 (£269) a month more, the US military said.

The current maximum bonus a US soldier can earn for speaking an extra language is $300 (£161) a month.

Pentagon spokeswoman Lt Col Ellen Krenke told the Reuters news agency the amount of bonus payment soldiers receive will depend on the languages they speak - and how well they speak them.

Lt Col Krenke said some 247,000 US soldiers spoke a language other than English, of which some 20,000 had their language skills certified by the military and claimed the relevant bonus.

She said about 7,000 US soldiers spoke Arabic.