BRUSSELS: NATO will boost its training mission in Afghanistan by 3,000 troops, chief Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday as Kabul reeled from the latest deadly attack on civilians.

Around half the new troops will come from the United States, and the overall size of NATO’s training and support mission in the unrest-hit country will increase from 13,000 to 16,000, he said.

Speaking a day before NATO defence ministers meet in Brussels, Stoltenberg said the alliance would boost its presence “to help the Afghans break the stalemate, to send a clear message to Taliban to the insurgents that they will not win on the battleground”.

“There will be more troops. Current level is around 13,000, the new level will be around 16,000... so far indications are roughly half US, half non-US,” he added.

But Stoltenberg insisted there would be no return to combat operations.

“We are focusing on training the Afghan special operations forces, which have proven so key in the fight against the insurgents,” he said.—AFP