Germany to step up training of Afghan army

BERLIN, Aug 25 (Reuters) Germany plans to increase training of the Afghan army in the north of Afghanistan, a Defence Ministry spokesman said today.

The spokesman was responding to a report in weekly magazine Der Spiegel, which said Berlin would extend the training to fend off demands from the European Union to deploy German soldiers in volatile regions of Afghanistan.

Germany, which has been very cautious about sending troops abroad since World War Two, has a maximum deployment limit of 3,500 armed forces personnel in Afghanistan. The ministry said there were no plans to expand this.

Taliban insurgents want the German government to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan but Berlin has refused to do so.

Last month the Taliban abducted two German engineers in the country and five of their Afghan colleagues.

One of the Germans suffered a heart attack soon afterwards and was shot dead by his captors. The other German, 62-year-old Rudolph B, and the Afghans are still being held hostage.

REUTERS GT BD2038