The role of British troops in Helmand, the province in southern Afghanistan where they have been deployed for four years, is coming under unprecedented scrutiny as US commanders draw up plans for what they hope will be a final and conclusive push against Taliban-led insurgents.

Contingency plans include the possible wholesale withdrawal of the 9,500 British troops from Helmand to neighbouring Kandahar, the Taliban heartland, where US-led commanders are finalising plans for the largest counterinsurgency and “hearts and minds” operation since 2001.Canada, which has provided the bulk of Nato troops in Kandahar, says it will withdraw all its forces there next year.  Read more... (804 words, 1 image, estimated 3:13 mins reading time)

In Sangin, says a farmer, ‘people are sick of night raids and being treated badly by the foreigners’

As with so many of the Helmand towns where the British are present the bazaar in Sangin is officially “thriving”.

Indeed, recent visitors have to admit that there are signs of commerce in the long thin strip of shops. But the rest, says David Gill, a photographer who visited Sangin three times last year, is like “a ghost town in Death Valley where you drive through and all you see is a sign flapping in the wind”.  Read more... (709 words, 1 image, estimated 2:50 mins reading time)

Royal Military Police investigating two cases since Sunday in Helmand province

A second British soldier in two days has been killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.

The serviceman, from 3rd Battalion the Rifles, died today from wounds sustained in a gun battle near Sangin in Helmand province last night.

The death follows that of Lance Corporal Michael David Pritchard, 22, of 4th Regiment Royal Military Police, who has been named as the victim of a separate incident in Sangin on Sunday.  Read more... (213 words, 1 image, estimated 51 secs reading time)

Friday 1 January 2010

The number of British soldiers killed in the conflict since 2001 now stands at 245, including 108 in 2009

A British soldier has been killed after an explosion in Afghanistan‘s Helmand province, the Ministry of Defence said today.

The soldier, who has not yet been named, was from 33 Engineer Regiment and part of a taskforce working to counter improvised explosive devices (IED). He died yesterday from wounds sustained in a blast close to Patrol Base Blenheim, near Sangin.  Read more... (228 words, 1 image, estimated 55 secs reading time)

A surge of US military forces in Afghanistan is expected to result in better security for Helmand Province, where the bulk of UK forces are based.

The US deployment and 500 extra British soldiers, is set to boost Nato’s troop numbers in the most crucial areas.

It should also allow them to accelerate the training of the Afghan Army and police, now a key focus of the mission.

Senior British military sources say that some areas could be under Afghan forces in 2010.  Read more... (791 words, 1 image, estimated 3:10 mins reading time)

The commanding officer of two British soldiers killed in Afghanistan said today they had sacrificed their lives to thwart an attempted Taliban suicide bombing of a packed marketplace.

Lance Corporal David Kirkness, 24, and Rifleman James Brown, 18, both of 3rd Battalion The Rifles, died after a motorcycle drove into a checkpoint they were manning. The checkpoint had been established to protect a bazaar near Sangin in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, on Tuesday.

Lieutenant Colonel Nick Kitson, commanding officer of 3 Rifles Battle Group, said the dead soldiers’ comrades took pride in the fact they had given their lives to avert a “much larger tragedy”.  Read more... (611 words, 1 image, estimated 2:27 mins reading time)

Two British soldiers have been killed by a suspected suicide bomber while on patrol with the Afghan army.

The men, from the 3rd Battalion, The Rifles, were caught in the blast near Sangin in Helmand on Tuesday afternoon. Their families have been told.

They were on foot at the time of the explosion, which also killed two Afghan army soldiers.

A total of 239 UK service personnel have died in Afghanistan since 2001, including 102 so far this year.

The soldiers were on a joint patrol with the Afghan National Army and the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force.  Read more... (241 words, 1 image, estimated 58 secs reading time)