Australia to send 240 troops to Afghan: PM

Canberra, May 8: Australia will send a 240-strong security and reconstruction team to Afghanistan in July as part of NATO operations, Prime Minister John Howard said today.

''They will work on reconstruction and community-based projects as part of Australia's commitment to securing a stable and democratic future for Afghanistan,'' Howard said.

The government foreshadowed in February that it would send a reconstruction team to Afghanistan, but the exact size of the deployment was unknown.

Reuters