Italy's defense minister says some 400 troops sent to Afghanistan for the August presidential election will stay there to help with security for next month's runoff vote.
Ignazio La Russa told reporters in Rome Tuesday that he hoped the Nov. 7 runoff and related procedures such as vote-counting and validation would take about a month to six weeks, and the soldiers would return after that.
Italy has contributed some 2,800 troops to the NATO mission in Afghanistan, and sent in the extra 400 for the elections.
Last month, a bomb attack in Kabul killed six Italian soldiers and rekindled a debate over Italy's participation in the mission and the prospects to end the eight-year-old war.
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