Troops in Afghanistan kept busy

Bomb attacks on NZ troops have caused concern for PM John Key. Photo / Martin Sykes

New Zealand troops serving in Afghanistan are gearing up for a busy period with the Afghanistan national elections scheduled to take place in August.

Defence force spokesman Zac Prendergast said New Zealand troops are involved in providing security and there could be a "heightened activity in that regard" as elections approach.

Election day is August 20 but the result will not be known for a month.

Mr Prendergast said New Zealand troops were working with local leaders and monitoring "concerns".

"At the end of the day, you've got a liaison officer who has got to be able to sit down, have a cup of tea and talk with the guys about what has happened," Mr Prendergast said.

He said that may involve finding out if there have been unusual movements of people in the area.

There are over 150 New Zealand troops currently serving in Afghanistan.

Most are in the provincial reconstruction team which is working in the Bamyan province, in the centre of the country.

New Zealand has about 140 military personnel in the provincial reconstruction team working on patrolling the region with the Afghan police and Afghan army.

They were first sent in 2003 and have been rotated 14 times. The troops are due to stay in Afghanistan until at least September next year.

There are a further 19 military or police personnel serving in advisory positions.

Mr Prendergast said New Zealand troops are also involved in distributing aid.

He said the Hazara people, the ethnic group who live in Bamyan, want to "develop and move on".

"New Zealand has been in Afghanistan since September 2003, now that is longer than we were in World War II.

"You would hope that we had developed procedures and developed an understanding and a knowledge and so on of how to operate there that makes it safer for us, as well as being able to provide grounds for development," Mr Prendergast said.

He said the New Zealand troops have been trained in the language and protocol of the Hazara. That includes who troops should talk to and who they should not.

Prime Minister John Key raised concerns for the safety of New Zealand troops in Afghanistan after a New Zealand patrol became the target of a bomb that was triggered in front of a vehicle travelling in a convoy in June. It was the third time New Zealand troops were targeted by explosives.

Earlier in the same month a New Zealand army patrol came under gunfire from insurgents.

The patrol was in Do Abe, 50km north east of the Kiwi Base in Bamyan, with the Afghanistan National Police (ANP). No New Zealanders were injured in either incident.

Asked about the details that led up to the attacks, Mr Prendergast said there are "operational reasons" why he could not disclose some information.

The elite New Zealand force - the Special Air Service - have been sent to Afghanistan three times between 2003 and 2006.

The United States is constantly asking New Zealand to increase its military presence in Afghanistan, according to papers released to Radio New Zealand under the Official Information Act.

The papers showed that the US was impressed with the reconstruction team and regularly asked for an increased commitment in Afghanistan.

- NZPA