The Australian cabinet's national security committee has approved the government's initial planning for the deployment of doubling its troops to Afghanistan, The Australia, one of the country's leading newspapers, reported Thursday.

The plan includes sending a special forces task group to Oruzgan province of Afghanistan and additional air support, with a Defense team to report back soon on its scope.

As a result, up to 450 extra personnel and new capabilities, possibly including Black Hawk helicopters and an air defense radar team, could be deployed in the country, according to the newspaper.

However, Australian Defense Minister Brendan Nelson refused to confirm the report. But he said a small scoping group would be sent to Afghanistan to determine if a larger commitment is needed to curtail a resurgent Taliban, amid concerns that it could stage offensives in the near future.

"I won't speak in any details about the reports I've seen in the newspapers," Nelson told Australia's Seven Network television, adding "what I have decided to do is to send a small scoping group to Afghanistan to have a very close look at it, but no final decision had been made."

Source: Xinhua