Meanwhile, a fuel tanker bomb kills 37 in western Iraq

Britain said yesterday it will increase its troop strength in southern Afghanistan to bolster NATO forces battling Taliban militants, days after Prime Minister Tony Blair said he was pulling some British troops out of Iraq.

British media said 1,000 more soldiers would be sent to Afghanistan to join the more than 5,000 British troops already there.

Defence Minister Des Browne confirmed the deployment, but would not provide specific numbers.

Browne said the government made the decision to boost its forces after last week’s meeting of NATO defence ministers in Spain in which the alliance urged countries to send more troops.

“NATO must respond to this request, or we will put at risk everything we have achieved across Afghanistan in the last five years,” Browne said, adding that full details of the deployment would be announced Monday in Parliament.

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