ABOUT 1,000 British Special Forces are ready to join the ground war in Afghanistan, it was claimed today.

Two squadrons of SAS troopers, the Pathfinder platoon and the Parachute Regiment reconnaissance unit will make up the bulk of the force, The Daily Telegraph reported.

The Special Forces are likely to work in an entirely British group, possibly boosted by the Australian or New Zealand SAS.

The Royal Marines, who already have two commandos in Oman, may also be brought in.

The War Cabinet and the British Chiefs of Staff held separate meetings yesterday to discuss America's request for British troops to support ground attacks.

Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We have always said that British ground troops are an option.

"No specific decisions have been taken but clearly we are exploring all of the possibilities.

"I'm not going to put a time-scale on that. We always have troops ready to go at very short notice."

US and British Special Forces are ready to invade Afghanistan to hunt down Osama bin Laden and destroy his al-Qaeda terror network.

Mr Hoon said: "The areas in which he can freely move are now distinctly limited.

"I am confident that, in due course, either we will find him or someone else will give him up."