Brown in call over troops for Afghanistan.

GORDON BROWN has been lobbying allies to send more troops to Afghanistan, and is hopeful of securing 5,000 reinforcements on top of whatever additional force the US commits, he said yesterday.

The Prime Minister has already offered to add 500 troops to Britain's 9,000-strong deployment, provided that other members of the 43-nation International Security Assistance Force also step up their contribution.

The ISAF coalition is currently awaiting a final decision from US President Barack Obama on whether to send tens of thousands of additional troops.

Mr Brown said he had been contacting allies inside and outside Europe to ask them for their backing for the "Afghanisation" strategy of partnering and mentoring Afghan forces, so that they could eventually take over responsibility for security in their own country."