TORONTO Canada will keep between 900 and 950 troops in Afghanistan in a noncombat training role after Canada’s combat mission ends in 2011, a senior government official said Monday.

The official said that 750 military trainers and about 200 support troops will remain and most likely be based in Kabul. They would remain in Afghanistan until no later than 2014.

The official said NATO allies pressured Canada to remain in a combat role but said that is something Canada won’t consider. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because no authorization was given to speak publicly.

Parliament has mandated that the combat mission end in 2011.

Canada has about 3,000 troops in Afghanistan. More than 150 Canadian soldiers have been killed and more than 1,500 have been wounded since Canada first sent troops to support the U.S.-led invasion after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Canada has suffered the highest per capita casualty rate of any coalition member.

The U.S. has been hoping for months that Canada would not pull its troops out of Afghanistan. U.S. Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, the commander of NATO’s training mission, said earlier Monday that the NATO mission faced a critical shortage of 900 trainers. Afghan President Hamid Karzai wants his nation’s police and army to take the lead in protecting and defending their homeland by 2014.

International support for the war is waning, yet Caldwell said he remained hopeful that NATO nations would pledge more trainers, possibly at a meeting of the alliance later this month in Portugal.

Defense Minister Peter MacKay said Sunday that Canada was considering a U.S. request to keep troops in Afghanistan past 2011, but switch them from a combat to training role.