Madrid, Sep 5 (EFE) Spain is considering whether post-electoral security conditions in Afghanistan require an increase in the contingent that Madrid has deployed to the war-ravaged nation, Defence Minister Carme Chacon has said.
Spain is waiting to find out if there will be a second round of voting to decide whether to extend the presence of the so-called electoral battalion for another month.
More than 1,300 Spanish troops are serving with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, including 450 sent to bolster security for the Aug 20 general elections.
The defense ministry confirmed Friday that Chacon asked to appear before parliament to report on the situation of the Afghanistan mission after the two attacks this week against Spanish troops, in which 13 insurgents were killed and one Spanish soldier wounded.
Chacon told a Spanish television that Thursday’s attack in Sabzak was “one of the worst” in the seven years of the Afghanistan mission and added that for Spain, avoiding civilian casualties “is fundamental”.
“We’re very aware, and so are our troops, that we’re working on maximum alert, that this is the hardest, most complex and riskiest mission that Spain has engaged in,” Chacon said, adding that if conditions require a heightened Spanish presence in Afghanistan, he will ask Parliament for it.
Deputy Prime Minister Mara Teresa Fernandez de la Vega also said Friday that the government is evaluating the soldiers’ security and that the decision taken will be conveyed to Parliament.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said last month in an interview with The New York Times that the 450-strong electoral battalion could remain in Afghanistan after the elections.
Nearly 90 Spanish military personnel have been killed in Afghanistan since 2002.
