Bratislava - Slovakia's parliament agreed Thursday to boost the country's troop numbers in Afghanistan.

It allowed up to 246 soldiers to serve in a NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission by the end of 2008, up from the current limit of 115.

The increased mandate for military engineers and guards, who would not take part in combat operations, was proposed by the centre-left government of Prime Minister Robert Fico whose cabinet pulled troops from Iraq in early 2007.

Currently 70 Slovak soldiers serve in Afghanistan, most with an engineering corps at an airbase in the southern province of Kandahar. (dpa)