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| Afghanistan Taliban: British military deployed to Helmand | Afghanistan Taliban: British military deployed to Helmand |
| (35 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 - near the former 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 about 450 troops remain in mentoring and support roles. | UK combat operations in Afghanistan ended last year, but about 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 after a Taliban attack. | The police headquarters reportedly remains under siege 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." |
| The BBC understands there are about 10 British personnel now at Camp Shorobak. | 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. | 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. | They will not deploy outside the camp, she added. |
| 'Turmoil in leadership' | 'Turmoil in leadership' |
| By Jonathan Marcus, BBC defence correspondent | By Jonathan Marcus, BBC defence correspondent |
| The Taliban surge, not just in Helmand but in a number of other provinces, has highlighted the dysfunction at the heart of the Afghan government and thrown the continuing problems of the Afghan military into high relief. | The Taliban surge, not just in Helmand but in a number of other provinces, has highlighted the dysfunction at the heart of the Afghan government and thrown the continuing problems of the Afghan military into high relief. |
| The Taliban resurgence is as much a product of the turmoil in its top leadership as anything else, with different factions vying for power and seeking to demonstrate their pre-eminence by displays of military prowess. | The Taliban resurgence is as much a product of the turmoil in its top leadership as anything else, with different factions vying for power and seeking to demonstrate their pre-eminence by displays of military prowess. |
| The fact that the so-called Islamic State organisation is slowly putting down roots in the turmoil is also worrying Western military planners and adding a new dimension to the Afghan conundrum. | The fact that the so-called Islamic State organisation is slowly putting down roots in the turmoil is also worrying Western military planners and adding a new dimension to the Afghan conundrum. |
| Read more from Jonathan here. | Read more from Jonathan here. |
| 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. | 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. |
| Timeline: UK troops in Afghanistan | |
| October 2001 - Following the 9/11 attacks, the US accuses the Taliban, the ruling power in Afghanistan, of harbouring terrorist Osama Bin Laden. Britain becomes involved soon after, deploying ground troops | |
| December 2001 - The city of Kandahar, the last Taliban stronghold, falls to US coalition forces. Then Prime Minister Tony Blair hails a victory. Within a year it becomes clear the Taliban has regrouped and is fighting back | |
| January 2006 - More than 3,000 British forces move into the southern Helmand province, with their base at Camp Bastion, as fighting intensifies | |
| October 2009 - The UK sends more troops - at the peak of the conflict there are 9,500 British troops in Afghanistan. Nato and the US also send more troops. It becomes the bloodiest year of the campaign, but the coalition begins to win ground | |
| October 2014 - The last British combat troops withdraw from Afghanistan, after 13 years of combat | |
| December 2015 - British troops sent to Afghanistan to help Nato forces fight Taliban | |
| Read more about the history of the conflict | |
| 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 feared "that we're still not learning the lessons and it's British troops that are going to pay the price". | She said she feared "that we're still not learning the lessons and it's British troops that are going to pay the price". |