CANBERRA, Australia — Australia will send 150 elite troops to Afghanistan by September to fight a growing tide of insurgent-led violence by remnants of the Taliban and al Qaeda, the prime minister said Wednesday.

The troops would comprise Special Air Service Regiment soldiers, commandos and support personnel, Prime Minister John Howard said.

"It's fair to say that the progress that's been made in the establishment of a legitimate government in Afghanistan has come under increasing attack and pressure from the Taliban in particular and some elements of al Qaeda," Howard told reporters.

"We have received at a military level requests from both the United States and others and also the government of Afghanistan and we have therefore decided ... to dispatch a special forces task group," he added.

The troops would be in place by September and remain for a year, he said.

The Australian defense department would also consider sending up to 200 troops as part of a reconstruction team to Afghanistan early next year, he said.

Australia sent about 1,500 military personnel, including 150 Special Air Service troops, to support the U.S.-led war that ousted the Taliban and al Qaeda forces in late 2001, but currently has only one soldier there. That soldier is involved in mine clearance.

Howard said the new deployment would have a separate Australian national command, although the task group would be under the operational control of U.S. forces.

"We think its important that the progress made in Afghanistan is preserved and consolidated and that the resurgence of violence and the resurgence of attempts by the Taliban to undermine the government of that country are not successful," he said.

The U.S.-trained Afghan army now numbers 26,000 and regularly fights alongside troops from the 20,000-strong U.S.-led coalition. A separate NATO-led force of 8,000 soldiers is responsible for security in Kabul and the country's north and west.

But the forces in Afghanistan are struggling to contain unprecedented fighting by insurgents that has left more than 700 people dead in three months and threatened to sabotage three years of progress toward peace. U.S. and Afghan officials have warned violence is likely to worsen before legislative elections in September.

Afghanistan's ambassador to Australia, Mahmoud Saikal, welcomed the new deployment, saying the Australian troops would help the elections run smoothly.