PRAGUE, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Czech deputies rejected a plan to extend and expand the Czech military presence in Afghanistan on Friday, rebuffing U.S. demands for NATO nations to do more to combat worsening insurgent violence there.

The cabinet fell two short of the 101 votes it needed in the 200-seat lower house of parliament to approve all foreign military missions, a record of the voting showed.

Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek's three-party government holds just 96 seats in the lower house after four defections in recent months.

Prague will now have to withdraw the more than 500 Czech troops serving under U.S. and NATO commands in Afghanistan within 60 days after Jan. 1 unless it finds a new way to extend the missions. That would still require parliamentary approval.

The vote also throws into doubt the presence of the 400-strong Czech contingent in Kosovo, one of the foreign missions covered by the failed measure.

"I regret this situation has come about. It is very serious, a bad signal for our coalition partners (in Afghanistan)," chief of general staff Lt. General Vlastimil Picek told Czech Television after the vote.

The plan to increase the number of troops in Afghanistan by about 200 was part of an international response to the deteriorating security situation in the country, where Taliban fighters have been stepping attacks against foreign troops.

The United States is sending in extra 3,000 troops in January.

The government's weakness and sniping by eurosceptic President Vaclav Klaus, have raised concerns in Europe about the effectiveness of the Czech Republic's six-month EU presidency, which begins on Jan. 1. (Reporting by Jan Lopatka; Editing by Jon Boyle)

AlertNet news is provided by