Afghan mission for UK troops.

DEFENCE Secretary John Reid was expected to announce the deployment of thousands of British troops to Afghanistan today.

Mr Reid insisted to MPs the final numbers being sent into the lawless south of the country had not yet been decided.

But Nato secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said that the predicted figure of 3,500 would be "not far off the mark".

Preparations for the mission have already been delayed while the Dutch parliament considers whether to commit troops.

The UK takes control of the Nato stabilisation force in Afghanistan in May.

It is due to expand operations into the south, currently patrolled by the US, later in the year.

While the primary aim is to aid reconstruction and suppress the cultivation of illegal drugs, Taliban fanatics are active in the area.

There have been threats that suicide bombers will step up their campaign when the Nato operation moves into the Helmand province.

The province has already been the centre of some of the fiercest uprising against the Afghan administration in recent months.