Germany officials said Tuesday they would send an additional 1,000 troops to Afghanistan, though the troops would be limited to the north and the move would have to be approved by the German parliament.

The move would bring Germany’s total number of troops to 4,500. NATO and U.S. officials have repeatedly criticized NATO member nations’ troop commitments to Afghanistan. In many cases, those troops are operating under rules that keep them in quieter parts of the country or limit what missions they can undertake.

Franz Josef Jung, the German defense minister, made the announcement, which coincided with a visit to Berlin by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Germany’s deployments to Afghanistan must be renewed in October, when the previous parliamentary mandate authorizing the deployment expires.

Some 25 German servicemembers have been killed in Afghanistan since 2001.

There are 60,000 NATO troops in Afghanistan, with about half coming from the U.S. military. Fighting has picked up over the past two years in the country, particularly in the south, where many NATO nations refuse to deploy their troops.

Earlier this month on a farewell visit to Europe, President Bush repeated his request to NATO governments — including Germany — to increase troop contributions.

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