Mongolia will send at least 150 soldiers to Afghanistan in its biggest contribution to the international coalition fighting Taliban militants there, the defense ministry said Thursday.
The troops should be on the ground by September to engage mainly in site security operations but also some training, said ministry spokesman Bayasgalan Misheel.
“This is important for regional stability and Mongolia wants to contribute. It is also a good experience for the Mongolian army so that it can become more professional in its armed forces,” he said.
Misheel said 130 soldiers will perform security duties in Kabul while another 23 will be training the Afghan army in artillery use and maintenance.
Their missions will begin September 1 and last six months.
He said Mongolia has previously sent eight groups of Afghanistan, all for training purposes and no more than 25 soldiers at a time.
The Mongolian deployment follows on the heels of peacekeeping missions to Sierra Leone and Iraq, among other countries.
Eight separate Mongolian mobile training teams had previously worked in Afghanistan from 2003 to 2008, but Misheel said previous Afghan deployments amounted to only about 25 troops, and only for training duties.
