Spain will send 511 soldiers to Afghanistan in the near future, local media said, quoting the country's defense minister.
Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has called for NATO members to follow Washington's example.
Spain currently has 998 servicemen permanently serving in the country. Other 70 Spanish servicemen provide security to Kabul airport on a temporary basis.
After a build-up, the Spanish contingent in the Islamic republic will exceed 1,500 troops.
Violence has surged in Afghanistan in recent months, with the radical Islamic Taliban group, which was toppled in a 2001 U.S.-led campaign, staging regular attacks on provincial government officials, police and civilians and planting roadside bombs to target Afghan, U.S. and NATO troops.
MADRID, December 18 (RIA Novosti)