Bulgaria will send on Thursday its 21st contingent to Afghanistan.

The new unit will participate in an ISAF mission in Kabul. A total of 90% of the contingent's 165 soldiers have already participated in missions. The contingent includes 13 women and will be commanded by Svetoslav Godinov, company commander of the Bulgarian 38th Infantry Battalion

Currently, a total of 600 Bulgarian soldiers and medical staff are currently stationed in Afghanistan in Kabul and Kandahar.

In 2010, Bulgaria increased its Afghanistan contingent as part of the ISAF/NATO forces to 600 troops; half are stationed at the Kandahar airport. Taliban rocket attacks on the Kandahar are very common.

Bulgaria's center-right government, elected in the summer of 2009, initially said it would not be able to provide more forces in Afghanistan due to the economic crisis, but later changed its strategy under pressure from the United States and NATO.