Turkey considers sending extra troops to Afghanistan

"There is a NATO request to send troops to Afghanistan, and we are now thinking of sending troops to Afghanistan," Erdogan told reporters in London.

"As a NATO member we have the opportunity to renew the mission we carried out for ISAF (the International Security Assistance Force). We are aware of our duties as a member of this international organization," said Erdogan, whose country is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and held the rotating command of the ISAF in 2002 after a US-led war oustedthe Taliban in Afghanistan.

About 6,000 ISAF peacekeeping troops were currently deployed inthe Afghan capital city of Kabul and earlier reports said NATO members were reluctant to provide more soldiers and equipment for a plan to expand the ISAF role beyond Kabul. Enditem