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HALIFAX, Nova Scotia — Canada’s defense minister says Canada is considering a U.S. request to keep troops in Afghanistan past 2011 but switch them from a combat to a training role.
Defense Minister Peter MacKay said Sunday the troops would not remain in Afghanistan’s volatile southern Kandahar province. “It will be out of Kandahar and will be behind the wire, a noncombat role,” MacKay said.
Parliament has mandated that the combat mission end next year.
Canada has about 2,900 soldiers in Afghanistan. More than 150 Canadian soldiers have been killed and more than 1,500 have been wounded since Canada first sent troops to support the U.S.-led invasion after 9/11.
