Soldier dies in bomb blast as Taleban leader Mullah Mansur is killed
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June 3, 2009
Deborah Haynes, Defence Correspondent
A bomb blast killed another British soldier in Afghanistan yesterday as the Ministry of Defence announced that attack helicopters in the south of the country had eliminated a prominent Taleban leader.
The serviceman from 2nd Battalion The Rifles died during a morning patrol in Gereshk in Helmand province. His next of kin have been informed.
In a rare piece of good news from the front line, however, the MoD said that Mullah Mansur, the Taleban commander killed in the helicopter strike, was connected to a suicide bomb attack that killed two other British soldiers last month. He is also accused of masterminding other bombings against British and Afghan forces in and around Lashkar Gah in Helmand province.
Apache helicopters carried out the attack in the early hours of Monday in an isolated area northeast of Lashkar Gah. Several other insurgent leaders and accomplices were killed or injured.
The operation was the culmination of months of effort.
John Hutton, the Defence Secretary, said: “Mullah Mansur was at the heart of the insurgents’ attempts to kill and injure British and Nato troops in Afghanistan and his presence brought misery to innocent Afghan civilians.
“This is a significant blow to the Taleban. British forces will continue to work with international partners to improve security across Helmand to prevent the export of terror from Afghanistan to the UK.”
Twelve British servicemen were killed in May, making it one of the bloodiest months for the British military since operations began in the country.
Among the deaths, Sergeant Ben Ross, 34, from 173 Provost Company, 3rd Regiment Royal Military Police, and Corporal Kumar Pun, 31, from the 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles, were killed in a suicide motorbike bombing on May 7. The British military believe that the attack was one of those orchestrated by Mansur.
A total of 166 British servicemen have been killed in Afghanistan since the start of operations in October 2001.
The serviceman from 2nd Battalion The Rifles died during a morning patrol in Gereshk in Helmand province. His next of kin have been informed.
In a rare piece of good news from the front line, however, the MoD said that Mullah Mansur, the Taleban commander killed in the helicopter strike, was connected to a suicide bomb attack that killed two other British soldiers last month. He is also accused of masterminding other bombings against British and Afghan forces in and around Lashkar Gah in Helmand province.
Apache helicopters carried out the attack in the early hours of Monday in an isolated area northeast of Lashkar Gah. Several other insurgent leaders and accomplices were killed or injured.
John Hutton, the Defence Secretary, said: “Mullah Mansur was at the heart of the insurgents’ attempts to kill and injure British and Nato troops in Afghanistan and his presence brought misery to innocent Afghan civilians.
“This is a significant blow to the Taleban. British forces will continue to work with international partners to improve security across Helmand to prevent the export of terror from Afghanistan to the UK.”
Twelve British servicemen were killed in May, making it one of the bloodiest months for the British military since operations began in the country.
Among the deaths, Sergeant Ben Ross, 34, from 173 Provost Company, 3rd Regiment Royal Military Police, and Corporal Kumar Pun, 31, from the 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles, were killed in a suicide motorbike bombing on May 7. The British military believe that the attack was one of those orchestrated by Mansur.
A total of 166 British servicemen have been killed in Afghanistan since the start of operations in October 2001.
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