Nato to strengthen Afghan force

Afghanistan says more troops are essential for the polls

Nato is to increase its troop numbers in Afghanistan from 6,500 to 10,000 for the elections there in September.

Nato leaders announced the increase at a summit in Istanbul.

Afghan leader Hamid Karzai, attending the summit, has warned repeatedly that the polls could be seriously threatened if security were not improved.

Suspected Taleban militants have been staging increasing attacks in the country, raising doubts that free elections could be successfully held.

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The leaders said in a statement at the opening of the summit: "Contributing to peace and stability in Afghanistan is Nato's key priority... We will commit the resources needed to make this mission a success."

Nato leaders said Afghan peace was a key priority

A Nato official in Istanbul said: "Today Nato's presence amounts to 6,500 troops. We will augment these numbers... to reach approximately 10,000 troops in theatre during the election period."

The expansion will reportedly include four more permanent peacekeeping units in northern cities - two of them British-led, one German and one Dutch.

Currently Nato's mission is restricted to the capital, Kabul, and the northern city of Kunduz.

Non-governmental organisations have been critical of Nato's failure to expand its operations.

Mr Karzai was elected by a loya jirga or grand council and is now seeking a popular mandate in the September elections, which were originally planned to have been held in June.

The Nato move follows another weekend of violence in Afghanistan.

Sixteen people were killed by suspected Taleban fighters in central Uruzgan province, apparently for holding voter registration papers.

Three women died on Saturday in a bomb attack on female election workers in the eastern city of Jalalabad. The Taleban said it carried out the attack.

Seven Afghan policemen were also killed in an ambush by unidentified gunmen in the western province of Farah on Sunday.