WASHINGTON — In a sign of things to come, the U.S. Defense Department announced Friday that a military construction crew is bound for Afghanistan instead of the Iraq war.

President-elect Barack Obama has pledged to withdraw American troops from Iraq and deploy more to Afghanistan, where Taliban and al-Qaida-linked militants have made a comeback in recent years.

The approximately 500 people announced Friday will begin arriving in Afghanistan in February. They had been scheduled for duty in Kuwait, where they would have supported fighting forces next door in Iraq. It's the first time that a regiment originally planned for Iraq duty is being redirected to help in Afghanistan, where U.S. military leaders say they are not winning.

"It's fair to say that this is the first additional forces," sent as part of a sizable group, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said.

Although their duties are not specified, the construction crews are likely to build such things as barracks and air strips. The U.S. will need that kind of infrastructure as it adds up to 30,000 forces in the coming months.

They will join some 32,000 U.S. troops already there. U.S. forces serve alongside 32,000 other NATO-led and coalition troops — the highest number since the U.S.-led invasion that ousted the Taliban from power in 2001.

Obama has said Afghanistan is one of his top priorities, but has not said just how he would change tactics or strategy beyond adding forces. He takes office on Tuesday with Vice President-elect Joe Biden, who said during a stop in Afghanistan this month that "things are going to get tougher in Afghanistan before they're going to get better."

Insurgent attacks in Afghani-stan increased in 2008 over the previous year and about 6,400 people — mostly militants — died last year as a result of the insurgency.

The construction forces announced Friday, known as Seabees, are from the 25th Naval Construction Regiment.