Denmark to boost Iraq force

Danish troops are based in the southern Basra sector

Denmark has said it will send an extra 90 troops to Iraq to bolster its 400-strong peacekeeping contingent.

Defence Minister Svend Aage Jensby said the reinforcements were needed to deal with the extra workload and the rising crime rate facing the contingent, which is based in the southern Basra sector under British command.

The Danish parliament is expected to approve the deployment when it returns from its summer break in early October.

The United States has called for a further 15,000 non-US troops to be sent to Iraq amid rising levels of violence in the war-torn country.

The United Kingdom on Monday agreed to send an extra 1,200 peacekeepers.

First casualty

No date has been set for the Danish troops' departure, though they are expected to leave soon after the vote in parliament.

Danish politicians say the troops will contribute significantly to Iraqi reconstruction.

"It is important that the [Iraqi] civilian population feel that safety is coming back in their daily life," said Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller.

A majority of Danish MPs are known to have backed the idea of bolstering the force since the first Danish casualty occurred in Iraq last month.

Corporal Preben Pedersen, 34, was killed by friendly fire near Basra on 16 August.

But Mr Jensby has come under fire from opposition MPs for allegedly misinforming them about the death, which he initially described as a combat incident.

Denmark's government supported the US invasion of Iraq with a submarine and an escort ship, but the country's public were deeply divided over military action.

Copenhagen has also been involved in plans for the post-war redevelopment of the country.

A veteran Danish diplomat, Ole Woehler Olsen, was appointed in May as the regional co-ordinator in the province of Basra.