The extra Finnish peacekeepers will be sent to the north of the country, where other Finns are currently stationed.

No firm date has been set for the elections. President Hamid Karzai has proposed a vote in April while the electoral commission has proposed elections in August.

The Finns are part of a 53,000 contingent of ISAF operation troops led by NATO under a U.N. mandate. Some 41 countries are participating, of which 26 belong to the alliance.