YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) — Cameroon's president has vowed to send 2,450 troops to join a regional army to fight Boko Haram, nearly tripling his initial pledge.

President Paul Biya announced the new troop total in a statement Friday night.

Boko Haram attacks including suicide bombings have mounted over the past year in Cameroon's north and the Nigeria-based extremist group has also recruited fighters in the country.

At a meeting in Cameroon in February, Nigeria and the neighboring countries of Chad, Niger and Benin agreed to deploy around 8,700 troops against Boko Haram, which became an affiliate of the Islamic State group earlier this year.

Cameroon initially pledged to contribute 750 troops. Biya said Friday the increase followed recommendations from a June summit meeting of regional leaders.

Deployment of the force has been delayed for lack of funds, but Chad President Idriss Deby said earlier this week it would be deployed within days. The force is to be based in Chad's capital, N'Djamena.

Gen. Valere Nka, who was serving as military attache to Cameroon's high commission in Abuja, has been appointed second-in-command of the force, Biya said.