Czechs cut Iraq forces, boost Afghan contribution

...units in Afghanistan.

The lower and upper houses agreed to pull out troops guarding a British base in the southern city of Basra in mid-2008, after consultation with the British.

The Czechs will keep in place about 20 officers who will train local personnel.

"We expect that the training will focus on improving the Iraqi army's ability to use Russian equipment," Defence Minister Vlasta Parkanova told the lower house.

The Czechs, NATO members since 1999, supported the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and have maintained a small military presence there since.

The plan also proposes raising the number of troops in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan to as many as 415 from about 230, mostly as part of a provincial reconstruction team the Czechs lead in the southeastern Loghar province.

"The operations in Afghanistan are the most important ones for the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO)," Parkanova said.

The Czechs will move about 100 soldiers to Loghar from a German-led reconstruction team in the north, and boost the unit to 180 troops.

About 120 personnel will continue running a military hospital at Kabul airport, 35 special forces will stay in southern Afghanistan and another 80 may be sent to support Dutch units in Uruzgan province, according to the plan.

Separately, the Czech may send special forces to Afghanistan under the U.S.-led Enduring Freedom operation early in 2008, but that would require separate parliamentary approval.

Parliament also agreed to maintain a unit up to 550-strong in the KFOR force in the breakaway Serb province of Kosovo.

The deployment plan must be considered by the upper house of parliament where it is expected to meet little resistance. (Reporting by Jan Lopatka; editing by Robert Woodward)

Keywords: CZECH TROOPS/

[PRAGUE/Reuters/Finance.cz]