KABUL - NATO is increasing the number of troops serving in the Resolute Support Mission (RSM) in Afghanistan, the alliance chief says.
“In Afghanistan we have transitioned from combat operations to the training and advising of local Afghan forces,” the secretary-general was quoted as saying by the Pentagon.
Jens Stoltenberg, speaking to students at a Paris university, said NATO was raising the number of troops in the mission to 16,000.
“Since 9/11, NATO allies have stood together in solidarity against terrorism,” Stoltenberg said. But Russia was only one problem that must be dealt with, he added.
The alliance is also a full partner of the global coalition to defeat ISIS. NATO assets -- such as the AWACS capability -- and its skills are on display throughout Iraq, the Middle East and North Africa.
After the Soviet Union’s dissolution in 1991, NATO became more active in the wake of Al-Qaeda attacks on 9/11 and took a lead role in Afghanistan. (Pajhwok)