This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35157428
The article has changed 14 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Afghanistan Taliban: British military deployed to Helmand | Afghanistan Taliban: British military deployed to Helmand |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| British military personnel have been deployed to Afghanistan's Helmand province as reports suggest the Taliban is close to overrunning Sangin town. | British military personnel have been deployed to Afghanistan's Helmand province as reports suggest the Taliban is close to overrunning Sangin town. |
| The Ministry of Defence said a small number of personnel had been sent to Camp Shorabak - better known as Camp Bastion - in an "advisory role". | |
| They will not be in combat and are part of a larger Nato team, the MoD said. | They will not be in combat and are part of a larger Nato team, the MoD said. |
| UK combat operations in Afghanistan ended last year, but around 450 troops remain in mentoring and support roles. | UK combat operations in Afghanistan ended last year, but around 450 troops remain in mentoring and support roles. |
| Helmand's governor, Mirza Khan Rahimi, insisted the authorities were still in control of Sangin, in Helmand province, but his own deputy said the town had been overrun by Taliban militants. | Helmand's governor, Mirza Khan Rahimi, insisted the authorities were still in control of Sangin, in Helmand province, but his own deputy said the town had been overrun by Taliban militants. |
| The police headquarters reportedly remains under siege on Tuesday morning after a Taliban attack. | The police headquarters reportedly remains under siege on Tuesday morning after a Taliban attack. |
| Maj Richard Streatfield, who spent seven months in Sangin in 2009 and 2010 with the Rifles, told the BBC it was "hugely disappointing" to see the town under threat again. | Maj Richard Streatfield, who spent seven months in Sangin in 2009 and 2010 with the Rifles, told the BBC it was "hugely disappointing" to see the town under threat again. |
| "I won't deny, on a personal level, it does make you wonder - was it worth it?" he said. | "I won't deny, on a personal level, it does make you wonder - was it worth it?" he said. |
| "Because if the people we were trying to free Afghanistan from are now able to just take it back within two years, that shows that something went badly wrong at the operational and strategic level." | "Because if the people we were trying to free Afghanistan from are now able to just take it back within two years, that shows that something went badly wrong at the operational and strategic level." |
| UK military deaths in Afghanistan | UK military deaths in Afghanistan |
| The BBC understands there are about 10 British personnel now at Camp Shorobak. | |
| A spokeswoman for the MoD said they would be providing advice to the Afghan National Army as part of the UK's "ongoing contribution" to Nato's Resolute Support mission. | |
| They will not deploy outside the camp, she added. | |
| 'Symbolic significance' | 'Symbolic significance' |
| By Jonathan Marcus, BBC defence correspondent | By Jonathan Marcus, BBC defence correspondent |
| Helmand province is familiar to thousands of British service personnel; the town of Sangin having a special symbolic significance. More than 100 British soldiers were killed in the struggle for Sangin before responsibility for the area was handed over to the Americans in 2010. | Helmand province is familiar to thousands of British service personnel; the town of Sangin having a special symbolic significance. More than 100 British soldiers were killed in the struggle for Sangin before responsibility for the area was handed over to the Americans in 2010. |
| Nato's combat operations in Afghanistan are supposed to be over. But the Afghan security forces are hard-pressed and suffer deficiencies in a variety of areas from logistics to the lack of any significant air power of their own. The Taliban's advance - and not just in Helmand - has highlighted the weakness of the Afghan authorities too. | Nato's combat operations in Afghanistan are supposed to be over. But the Afghan security forces are hard-pressed and suffer deficiencies in a variety of areas from logistics to the lack of any significant air power of their own. The Taliban's advance - and not just in Helmand - has highlighted the weakness of the Afghan authorities too. |
| And now there is a new factor, with elements sympathetic to the so-called Islamic State also putting down roots. Many will argue Afghanistan was forgotten too quickly. Some fear the country could go the way of Syria. | And now there is a new factor, with elements sympathetic to the so-called Islamic State also putting down roots. Many will argue Afghanistan was forgotten too quickly. Some fear the country could go the way of Syria. |
| Afghan refugees are now the second largest category of asylum seekers in Europe. Both Nato and the Americans may need to rethink the scope of their mission with some urgency. | Afghan refugees are now the second largest category of asylum seekers in Europe. Both Nato and the Americans may need to rethink the scope of their mission with some urgency. |
| Why is Sangin important? | Why is Sangin important? |
| Who are the Taliban? | Who are the Taliban? |
| The Times is reporting that the deployment includes at least one SAS unit of around 30 soldiers who are backing efforts by the American special forces and Afghan National Army to take control of the town. | The Times is reporting that the deployment includes at least one SAS unit of around 30 soldiers who are backing efforts by the American special forces and Afghan National Army to take control of the town. |
| The MoD refuses to comment on any operations potentially involving the SAS. | The MoD refuses to comment on any operations potentially involving the SAS. |
| Col Richard Kemp, former British commander in Afghanistan, told BBC Radio 5 live it was time for the UK and other Western countries to redeploy "some significant ground forces" to suppress the Taliban. | |
| "The reality is that we left Afghanistan too soon and withdrew too many troops too quickly before the Afghan forces were able to exert control over the insurgency themselves," he said. | "The reality is that we left Afghanistan too soon and withdrew too many troops too quickly before the Afghan forces were able to exert control over the insurgency themselves," he said. |
| But another senior figure, Lord Dannatt - former head of the British Army - said he believed Afghanistan was a lower priority than Syria and Libya, and any upsurge in British military effort should be focused there instead. | But another senior figure, Lord Dannatt - former head of the British Army - said he believed Afghanistan was a lower priority than Syria and Libya, and any upsurge in British military effort should be focused there instead. |
| 'Lessons not learned' | 'Lessons not learned' |
| Some 12,000 foreign soldiers are deployed as part of the Nato-led Resolute Support international coalition, which is meant to underpin Afghanistan's own security forces. | Some 12,000 foreign soldiers are deployed as part of the Nato-led Resolute Support international coalition, which is meant to underpin Afghanistan's own security forces. |
| On Monday, a Taliban suicide bombing near Bagram killed six US soldiers in one of the deadliest attacks on foreign forces in the country this year. | On Monday, a Taliban suicide bombing near Bagram killed six US soldiers in one of the deadliest attacks on foreign forces in the country this year. |
| The battle for Sangin comes a little over a year after the end of UK combat operations in Afghanistan. | The battle for Sangin comes a little over a year after the end of UK combat operations in Afghanistan. |
| More than 450 British personnel have died there since 2001, with the heaviest losses suffered in and around Sangin. | More than 450 British personnel have died there since 2001, with the heaviest losses suffered in and around Sangin. |
| Diane Dernie - whose son Ben Parkinson was severely injured by a Taliban bomb in 2006 - told BBC Radio 4's Today programme she felt "a desperate, desperate sense of waste" at hearing Sangin back in the news. | Diane Dernie - whose son Ben Parkinson was severely injured by a Taliban bomb in 2006 - told BBC Radio 4's Today programme she felt "a desperate, desperate sense of waste" at hearing Sangin back in the news. |
| She said she fears "that we're still not learning the lessons and it's British troops that are going to pay the price". | She said she fears "that we're still not learning the lessons and it's British troops that are going to pay the price". |