Australia is to send 150 special forces troops to Afghanistan by September to help counter increasing rebel attacks. Prime Minister John Howard said the deployment would begin in the run-up to Afghanistan\'s parliamentary elections and would last 12 months. Canberra sent more than 1,500 troops to Afghanistan in 2001 but they were withdrawn the following year. The decision to send soldiers back followed requests for support from the Afghan government, Britain and the US. \"It\'s fair to say that the progress that\'s been made in the establishment of a legitimate government in Afghanistan has come under increasing attack and pressure from the Taleban in particular and some elements of al-Qaeda,\" Mr Howard told reporters. He said Canberra would also consider dispatching to Afghanistan up to 200 soldiers as part of a reconstruction team early in 2006. Australia currently has one engineer in Afghanistan involved in mine clearance. (BBC)