Turkish FM to travel to Afghanistan for ISAF command handover

ANKARA, Jan 25 (AFP) - Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul will travel to Afghanistan next month to attend a ceremony for the handover of the command of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to Turkey, the foreign ministry announced Tuesday.
The ceremony will take place on February 13 in Kabul, marking the beginning of a second six-month stint for Turkey at the helm of the peacekeeping force after an initial term between June 2002 and February 2003.
The Turkish army will contribute 1,600 troops to the force, which is made up of about 8,000 soldiers from 36 countries serving in Kabul and nine provinces north of the capital.
Currently the force is commanded by the Eurocorps, an intervention force created under a 1992 Franco-German initiative which includes troops from Belgium, Spain and Luxembourg.

01/25/2005 16:52 GMT - AFP