ANKARA (Islamweb & News Agencies) - NATO's only Muslim member state, Turkey, announced Thursday it would send a team of around 90 special forces troops to Afghanistan to help train the U.S.-backed opposition battling the ruling Taliban.(Read photo cation below)The government said Turkey, which has close intelligence links with Afghanistan's opposition warlords, would also help forge a new wide-based administration in case the Taliban fall and ``help our Afghan brothers achieve stability and peace.''
Clearly sensitive to how the move might be portrayed in some Muslim countries, Ankara said there was no question that its action was in any way aimed against Islam.
In a country where almost any political development affects financial markets still reeling from a February crisis, the Turkish currency firmed on the news. Bankers saw the move as all but securing international loans Turkey needs next year.
``A link has been made between the support for Afghanistan and the additional resources that will come from the IMF. The fact that an agreement has been reached (on troops) is seen as making the money certain,'' one banker said.
PHOTO CAPTION:
Plumes of smoke from an explosion rise in front of the village of Sarghich, a Taliban controlled area close to Bagram airport, 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2001. U.S. jets launched heavy bombing raids on the Taliban front line positions north of Kabul on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Marco Di Lauro)