5:06pm UK, Saturday December 20, 2008

The United States is looking to send at least 20,000 extra troops to Afghanistan by next summer, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs Of Staff has said.

US Soldiers in Afghanistan

Admiral Mike Mullen said the figure could even rise as high as 30,000.

He told reporters: “We’ve agreed on the requirement and so it’s really clear to me we’re going to fill that requirement so it’s not a matter of if, but when.

“We’re looking to get them here in the spring, but certainly by the beginning of summer at the latest.”

Washington is already sending 3,000 extra troops in January and another 2,800 by Spring, but officials have previously said the number would be made up to 20,000 in the next 12 to 18 months.

US Army General David McKiernan has asked for the extra troops to halt a growing Taliban insurgency particularly in the east and south of Afghanistan.

President elect Barack Obama has pledged a renewed focus on Afghanistan when he comes into office next month.

The United States currently has 31,000 troops in Afghanistan, some of them operating independently and some operating as part of a 51,000-strong NATO-led security assistance force.