Contributed by Nadia
Five killed in single bomb blast as operation makes them vulnerable
- Richard Norton-Taylor and Ian Cobain
- guardian.co.uk, Friday 10 July 2009 22.15 BST
B company of the Black Watch in the back of a Viking vechicle. Photograph: Sean Smith
With thousands of British troops moving out of their bases in a major operation to confront the Taliban in northern Helmand, they are becoming increasingly vulnerable to a determined, though unconventional, enemy.
Fifteen British soldiers have been killed over the past 10 days, the highest losses to enemy action since UK troops were first sent to Afghanistan in 2001; 184 have now lost their lives there, more than the total killed in Iraq.
Most have been the victims of bombs. Details of the latest incidents are still sketchy. It is known that five British soldiers were killed by a bomb while on foot patrol in the Sangin valley. Several Afghan soldiers were also killed.
The attack was in a part of the country where it had been hoped signs of normal life were returning. Bob Ainsworth, the defence secretary, said only a few days ago: "I visited Sangin where we are holding more ground, the market is bustling, people are feeling safer. I took part in a shura [consultation] with the local governor and his council of the elders. He told me that the people don't want the Taliban back – that we must stay and finish the job."
A sixth man died in a separate incident near Nad-e-Ali in Helmand province, the Ministry of Defence said. A serviceman from the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, he was killed in a Viking armoured amphibious vehicle in Babaji. He had been involved in Operation Panther's Claw, a big offensive against the Taliban coinciding with a similar operation by US troops further south.
Lieutenant Colonel Nick Richardson, spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said: "The loss of this brave Tankie has hit us all deeply. We grieve for him at this very sad time. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and colleagues who feel the greatest loss. His loss has not been in vain."
His family has been informed.
Earlier, the MoD confirmed there had been two deaths in separate incidents on Thursday. One soldier from 4th Battalion The Rifles was killed in a blast while on foot patrol near Nad-e-Ali. The second, from the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, attached to 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, was killed during an engagement with insurgent forces near Lashkar Gah on Thursday evening.
As MPs criticised the government over its handling of the conflict, the former British ambassador to the UN Sir Jeremy Greenstock, told the BBC he did not think the operation in Afghanistan was well-enough resourced.
He said: "We don't have enough troops in the army to run these sorts of operations any more, we've cut down too far."
But he added: "We want to see an Afghanistan that doesn't threaten us, therefore we do have dogs in this fight."
Menzies Campbell, the former leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: "Public support and confidence in government policy in Afghanistan will only be maintained if there is a clear strategy with definite objectives accompanied by unequivocal evidence that the troops have the equipment they require for this most difficult and dangerous task.
"Surpassing the figure for fatalities in Iraq may bring about a significant watershed in public opinion. The troops need to know that they have wholehearted backing, but that is not enough. They need the tools for the job."
The government is also coming under heavy criticism from both serving and former defence chiefs for not providing adequate equipment for UK troops fighting in southern Afghanistan.
General David Petraeus, chief of the US Central Command in Afghanistan, described the battle in the southern region of the country as "the longest campaign" during an address in San Francisco.
He said soldiers would face tough conditions as they try to "reverse the cycle of violence" in insurgent strongholds, adding that it would take a "sustained and substantial commitment" in southern Afghanistan to repel the Taliban.
In the worst month, in September 2006, 19 military personnel lost their lives, including 14 killed when an RAF Nimrod crashed. The 13 who died in June last year included the first female soldier killed in Afghanistan.
Some 75% of British military casualties in Afghanistan have been army personnel. An analysis of the ages of the troops that have died shows that around 68% are in their 20s, but that 7% were in their late teens.
The death toll over the past 10 days included Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe, of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, the first commanding officer in the British army to have been killed since the Falkands.
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