Czech Senate approves deployment of 100 elite troops to Afghanistan

PRAGUE, Czech Republic: The Czech Senate has approved a government plan to deploy about 100 elite troops to Afghanistan to serve in a U.S.-led operation against al-Qaida and Taliban fighters.

Forty-nine senators in the 81-seat upper house voted to allow a special forces unit to serve in the U.S.-led mission known as Operation Enduring Freedom. Three senators voted against the plan, seven abstained and 22 were not present for the vote Thursday.

The deployment still has to be approved by the parliament's lower chamber.

The unit served in the same U.S.-led mission in 2004 and 2006.

The parliament earlier agreed to deploy 415 soldiers in the separate NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan this year.

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