BRUSSELS, Jan 5 (KUNA) -- Forty-six Belgian soldiers left on Monday for Afghanistan as part of ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) which is under NATO command of some 52,000 troops, local media reported.
Thirty soldiers will be posted in the southern city of Kandahar, where four Belgian F-16 fighter planes are stationed. The new group will replace the Belgian army personnel who have been there for some months.
Sixteen Belgian commandos will work on training Afghani soldiers. They will be stationed in Kabul and later on in the north of the country.
Speaking at the departure ceremony of the new Belgian contingent at Melsbroek Air base, Belgian Defense Minister Pieter De Crem said that Belgian group troops would not be deployed in the war-torn south of Afghanistan.
Belgium has some 500 military personnel in Afghanistan. (end) nk.hb KUNA 052016 Jan 09NNNN