Spain's parliament approved on Thursday to send 150 more troops to Afghanistan, raising the total number of its soldiers in the war-torn country to 690, local media reported.

Any deployment of Spanish troops abroad must be approved by parliament under a post-Iraq war law passed after Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's party took office in April 2004.

A total of 283 deputies voted in favor of sending more troops, with six against and two abstaining.

Spain has a 540-strong contingent in Afghanistan, as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in the country. The troops have been involved in building health facilities and schools in the country's west, particularly the neighboring Badghis and Herat provinces.

Source:Xinhua