AI
Thursday, July 02, 2009 8:02:12 AM
Two UK soldiers die in explosion
The deaths take the number of British troops killed in Afghanistan to 171
Two British soldiers have been killed in an explosion in Helmand province, in southern Afghanistan.
A soldier of 1st Battalion Welsh Guards and one from 2nd Royal Tank Regiment were killed on Wednesday, the Ministry of Defence said.
UK troops last week launched a major offensive aimed at driving the Taliban out of strongholds in the province.
The deaths take the number of UK troops killed in Afghanistan since 2001 to 171. Next of kin have been informed.
A further six members of Nato forces were also wounded in the attack in Helmand, which involved an improvised explosive device (IED).
US opens 'major Afghan offensive' .. with video ..
Caroline Wyatt
BBC defence correspondent
The US Marines say the operation will be decisive and is intended to seize almost the entire lower Helmand River valley, which remains the heartland of the Taliban insurgency in Helmand and a major area for the production of opium, which helps fund the insurgency.
US commanders hope this offensive will help turn the tide in the current stalemate against the Taliban. The aim of this major operation is to "clear, hold and build" in areas under Taliban influence ahead of Afghan presidential elections this August.
The hope is also that if US and other Nato forces are seen as clearly winning the military battle against the insurgents, middle and lower-ranking Taliban leaders and fighters are more likely to defect back to the Afghan government's side, with US and UK sources in Kabul convinced that the US troop surge is already unsettling the Taliban leadership.
Operation targets Taliban heartland
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8130421.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8129789.stm
Spokesman for Task Force Helmand, Lt Col Nick Richardson, said there was a deep sense of loss as a result of the soldiers' deaths.
He said: "We grieve for them at this very sad time. Our thoughts and prayers
are with their families, friends and colleagues who feel the greatest loss."
An MoD spokesman confirmed the soldiers had been killed while on Operation Panthers Claw near Lashkar Gah in central Helmand.
The operation is one of the UK military's biggest co-ordinated air operations of modern times.
US offensive
It was launched to drive the Taliban out of strongholds in and around Babaji, north of Lashkar Gah.
The news of the two British soldiers' deaths came on the same day as the US army
announced it had launched a major offensive against the Taliban, also in Helmand.
The US offensive involves nearly 4,000 US Marines and 650 Afghan troops.
The operation - named Khanjar, or Strike of the Sword - aims to clear
insurgents from the region ahead of Afghanistan's presidential election in August.
Thousands of UK soldiers under Nato command have been fighting the Taliban in Helmand since
2006, but there has been criticism that they have been overstretched and under-resourced.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8130195.stm
The deaths take the number of British troops killed in Afghanistan to 171
Two British soldiers have been killed in an explosion in Helmand province, in southern Afghanistan.
A soldier of 1st Battalion Welsh Guards and one from 2nd Royal Tank Regiment were killed on Wednesday, the Ministry of Defence said.
UK troops last week launched a major offensive aimed at driving the Taliban out of strongholds in the province.
The deaths take the number of UK troops killed in Afghanistan since 2001 to 171. Next of kin have been informed.
A further six members of Nato forces were also wounded in the attack in Helmand, which involved an improvised explosive device (IED).
US opens 'major Afghan offensive' .. with video ..
Caroline Wyatt
BBC defence correspondent
The US Marines say the operation will be decisive and is intended to seize almost the entire lower Helmand River valley, which remains the heartland of the Taliban insurgency in Helmand and a major area for the production of opium, which helps fund the insurgency.
US commanders hope this offensive will help turn the tide in the current stalemate against the Taliban. The aim of this major operation is to "clear, hold and build" in areas under Taliban influence ahead of Afghan presidential elections this August.
The hope is also that if US and other Nato forces are seen as clearly winning the military battle against the insurgents, middle and lower-ranking Taliban leaders and fighters are more likely to defect back to the Afghan government's side, with US and UK sources in Kabul convinced that the US troop surge is already unsettling the Taliban leadership.
Operation targets Taliban heartland
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8130421.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8129789.stm
Spokesman for Task Force Helmand, Lt Col Nick Richardson, said there was a deep sense of loss as a result of the soldiers' deaths.
He said: "We grieve for them at this very sad time. Our thoughts and prayers
are with their families, friends and colleagues who feel the greatest loss."
An MoD spokesman confirmed the soldiers had been killed while on Operation Panthers Claw near Lashkar Gah in central Helmand.
The operation is one of the UK military's biggest co-ordinated air operations of modern times.
US offensive
It was launched to drive the Taliban out of strongholds in and around Babaji, north of Lashkar Gah.
The news of the two British soldiers' deaths came on the same day as the US army
announced it had launched a major offensive against the Taliban, also in Helmand.
The US offensive involves nearly 4,000 US Marines and 650 Afghan troops.
The operation - named Khanjar, or Strike of the Sword - aims to clear
insurgents from the region ahead of Afghanistan's presidential election in August.
Thousands of UK soldiers under Nato command have been fighting the Taliban in Helmand since
2006, but there has been criticism that they have been overstretched and under-resourced.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8130195.stm
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