Germany agrees Afghanistan force

German personnel and equipment will be deployed

A special meeting of Germany's security council has accepted a US request for a force of up to 3,900 troops to join the military operation against Afghanistan.

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder announced that the request from Washington had included special forces, medical services, air transport and naval forces to protect shipping lanes.

Units trained in combating nuclear, biological and chemical weapons are also being pledged.

Their exact mission had not yet been determined and would depend on military needs and on decisions by the German Government, said Mr Schroeder.

The government is confident that this package will effectively support the fight against terrorism and meets our alliance commitments

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder

Under the German constitution, the deployment will have to be accepted by parliament before going ahead.

The German cabinet is expected to formally approve the plan on Wednesday, and a preliminary parliamentary reading in the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, has been scheduled for Thursday.

"The government plans to accede to the request from the United States," Mr Schroeder told a news conference after the security council meeting.

No ground troops

"The government is confident that this package will effectively support the fight against terrorism and meets our alliance commitments."

Schroeder: Stressing no ground troops committed

He stressed that the force did not include ground troops, and said other aspects of the campaign against terrorism would continue.

"We mustn't forget that the military measures are only a part of the measures against international terrorism," he said.

The force will remain at the disposal of the US for a year.

The BBC's Berlin correspondent, Rob Broomby, says the main opposition parties have indicated they will support the government.

Green concerns

However, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's coalition partners, the Greens, may have more difficulty in doing so.

The party has its roots in the peace movement, and many members retain a pacifist stance.

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer is a Green Party member, and supports the military campaign.

But one of the party's national leaders, Claudia Roth, has called for a halt to the bombing, to allow humanitarian supplies to be distributed.

Earlier this year, German plans to send troops to join the Nato-led force in Macedonia became bogged down in conflict, when the Christian Democrats and some Social Democrat backbenchers threatened to oppose the move.

A rebellion was averted only when extra concessions, including more cash for the armed forces, were promised. A number of other countries have also offered military support to the US, including Australia, Turkey and France.