BRUSSELS, Belgium - The Belgian government on Friday decided to extend its contribution to the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon by six months.

Belgium has 375 troops south of Beirut where they are involved in reconstruction, medical support and the clearing of mines and unexploded bombs following last year's 34-day war between Hezbollah and Israel.

The government first approved the contribution to the UNIFIL mission in the wake of the Aug. 14 U.N-brokered cease-fire.

Early this month, three Belgian soldiers working in Lebanon died in a car accident.

De-mining has been the major task of the Belgian troops. Southern Lebanon is riddled with land mines, some laid by Israeli soldiers who withdrew from the region in 2000 after an 18-year occupation, and others planted by Hezbollah.