Germany to send 3,900 troops

Germany is to send nearly 4,000 troops to support the allied campaign in Afghanistan in its biggest military operation since the Second World War.

It will also supply armoured vehicles and transport planes.

Chancellor Gerhard Schroder, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Tony Blair while keeping the pacifists in his red-green coalition in check, has pledged anti-chemical warfare tanks and specialists, a flying hospital and medics.

The SAS-trained KSK special forces may be sent in to rescue civilian aid workers, four of them German, arrested by the Taliban for spreading Christianity.

In a poll less than two weeks ago, 69 per-cent of Germans wanted a pause in the campaign. The US has also requested special forces from allies including Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand and Turkey.

Indian special forces and advisers are said to be already aiding Northern Alliance fighters.