New Zealand Extends Afghan Troop Deployment

The tour of duty for the 140-member provincial reconstruction team in Bamiyan province had been due to end in September this year.

New Zealand has extended the duration of its troop deployment in Afghanistan for another year until until September 2010, Prime Minister John Key said on Tuesday.

The tour of duty for the 140-member provincial reconstruction team in Bamiyan province, west of Kabul, had been due to end in September this year.

"The situation in Afghanistan requires an ongoing international programme of security and development assistance to the government of Afghanistan," Key said in a statement.

Key said the work of New Zealand's reconstruction team was highly valued by the Afghanistan government and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

The commitment, which would cost about NZ$42 million ($21.4 million), includes personnel for various operational headquarters in Afghanistan, military officers to the UN Assistance Mission and medical specialists in south Afghanistan.

New Zealand troops have been in Afghanistan since December 2001, with the reconstruction team present since September 2003.

A member of New Zealand's elite SAS unit was awarded the country's highest gallantry award, the Victoria Cross, in 2007 for bravery in action in Afghanistan.

Last week, U.S. President Barack Obama ordered 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan to tackle an intensifying insurgency.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said last week the Obama administration expected "significant new commitments" from allies on troops or civilian assistance for Afghanistan before a planned NATO summit in April.