Afghanistan death toll passes Falklands War milestone as three more British soldiers die ahead of big offensive
Source: daily mail By Ian Drury
Last updated at 10:07 AM on 09th February 2010
The British death toll in Afghanistan has passed that of the Falklands War.
The grim milestone was passed when a soldier from the 36 Engineer Regiment, part of the counter-IED Task Force, was killed yesterday by an explosion in Nad-e-Ali, Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence said.
It followed the deaths of two soldiers killed by a Taliban bomb in lawless Helmand Province. Their deaths brought the British toll to level that of the Falklands War.
The pair from the Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, were caught in the roadside blast while on a foot patrol on Sunday.
Their deaths came as a strike-force of 15,000 coalition troops - including 4,000 from the UK - braced themselves to launch the biggest offensive of the nine-year conflict within days.
Defence chiefs have warned that more British casualties are expected in fierce fighting during Operation Moshtarak, the mission aimed at driving insurgents out of their strongholds around the opium-growing town of Marjah.
A total of 256 British servicemen and women have now died since the conflict in Afghanistan began in October 2001 - one more than the number who died in the 74-day campaign to retake the Falkland Islands in 1982.
The vast majority were killed after British troops deployed to Helmand in 2006. John Reid, the then Defence Secretary, expressed the hope that they would accomplish their mission without a shot being fired.
The Ministry of Defence said the latest troops killed were not involved in Operation Moshtarak.
Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth said yesterday that it was vital the British public held their resolve when the counter-insurgency began.
British, U.S. and Afghan troops alongside special forces, Apache helicopters, jets, unmanned drones and armoured cars will aim to kill or capture up to 1,000 insurgents holed up around the town of Marjah.
Marjah is the biggest community in southern Afghanistan that is under Taliban control and a centre of their logistical and drug-smuggling networks.
The Nato command believes restoring government control there would go a long way to discrediting the Taliban among Afghans in a part of the country where the militants have been strong for years.
Few know when the offensive will begin, and those who do are saying nothing. So the soldiers encamped outside the town are in the starting blocks, waiting in the cold.
'The wait is part of the fight,' U.S. Navy medic Daniel Perez said. 'It gives people the time to pump up with anticipation.'
Marjah is suspected to be one of the biggest, most dangerous minefields Nato forces have ever faced, and hundreds of the fighters barricaded inside could be planning to fight until death.
But Perez said he hasn't seen anyone frightened by the fight - 'or if they are, they're hiding it very well.'
He said the wait in the freezing cold Afghan winds, no matter how long, is unimportant for the soldiers.
'It's almost like the Olympics,' he said. 'You train and train and train ... and this is finally the big show.'
The camp set up by coalition forces outside Marjah has been named Outpost Belleau Wood after a World War I battle where the 6th Marines earned the label 'devil dogs' for the ferocity of their fight against German troops.
Mr Ainsworth, who has warned more casualties are a 'very real risk', said: 'We have seen an intense, hard and bloody period in Afghanistan but, as we prepare to consolidate our progress with the launch of Operation Moshtarak, it is imperative that we hold our resolve.
'Our presence in Afghanistan is vital in preventing it from once again becoming a haven for terrorists who would seek to threaten the UK.
'In taking the fight to the insurgents, providing security and hope for the Afghan people and building up their own security forces, we will - and must - succeed.'
Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, the head of the Armed Forces, said that while the Falklands milestone would attract attention but it would not deflect British soldiers' determination to succeed in the dangerous mission.
'We owe it to them to show resolve and to give them our utmost backing.'
Afghan defence minister General Abdul Rahim Wardak said he was 'deeply saddened' by the most recent British casualties.
He said: 'The deaths of UK service personnel and civilians are always tragic, but I hope that it is of some comfort to the families that their sacrifice is not in vain.
'The scourge of extremism and terrorism affects us all and we will continue to confront it together. We will never forget that, in our hour of need, you stood by us.'
Falklands veteran Simon Weston, who suffered severe burns during the war, said: 'The Falklands was a more conventional conflict - it was two armies wearing uniforms engaged against each other.
'Afghanistan is very different. Our boys and girls are fighting people using essentially guerrilla tactics. Unfortunately, when you fight terrorists and the Taliban, they don't wear uniforms.'
Last updated at 10:07 AM on 09th February 2010
The British death toll in Afghanistan has passed that of the Falklands War.
The grim milestone was passed when a soldier from the 36 Engineer Regiment, part of the counter-IED Task Force, was killed yesterday by an explosion in Nad-e-Ali, Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence said.
It followed the deaths of two soldiers killed by a Taliban bomb in lawless Helmand Province. Their deaths brought the British toll to level that of the Falklands War.
Facing the enemy: A British soldier is seen holding on to the turret gun of a manoeuvring armoured vehicle in Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan, yesterday ahead of Operation Moshtarak as the death toll for UK servicemen hit 255
Their deaths came as a strike-force of 15,000 coalition troops - including 4,000 from the UK - braced themselves to launch the biggest offensive of the nine-year conflict within days.
Defence chiefs have warned that more British casualties are expected in fierce fighting during Operation Moshtarak, the mission aimed at driving insurgents out of their strongholds around the opium-growing town of Marjah.
A total of 256 British servicemen and women have now died since the conflict in Afghanistan began in October 2001 - one more than the number who died in the 74-day campaign to retake the Falkland Islands in 1982.
The vast majority were killed after British troops deployed to Helmand in 2006. John Reid, the then Defence Secretary, expressed the hope that they would accomplish their mission without a shot being fired.
The Ministry of Defence said the latest troops killed were not involved in Operation Moshtarak.
Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth said yesterday that it was vital the British public held their resolve when the counter-insurgency began.
British, U.S. and Afghan troops alongside special forces, Apache helicopters, jets, unmanned drones and armoured cars will aim to kill or capture up to 1,000 insurgents holed up around the town of Marjah.
Marjah is the biggest community in southern Afghanistan that is under Taliban control and a centre of their logistical and drug-smuggling networks.
The Nato command believes restoring government control there would go a long way to discrediting the Taliban among Afghans in a part of the country where the militants have been strong for years.
Brothers in arms: Brigadier James Cowan, right, the British Army commander of the Task Force Helmand, speaks to a soldier while visiting troops as they practise their battle plans at a base in Shorabak
Every man (and his dog): A U.S. marine waits for the battle to begin with a comrade and his four-legged friend
Nato commanders have been very outspoken on their plans to take Marjah. But they have remained tight-lipped on one key bit of information: timing.Few know when the offensive will begin, and those who do are saying nothing. So the soldiers encamped outside the town are in the starting blocks, waiting in the cold.
'The wait is part of the fight,' U.S. Navy medic Daniel Perez said. 'It gives people the time to pump up with anticipation.'
Marjah is suspected to be one of the biggest, most dangerous minefields Nato forces have ever faced, and hundreds of the fighters barricaded inside could be planning to fight until death.
But Perez said he hasn't seen anyone frightened by the fight - 'or if they are, they're hiding it very well.'
He said the wait in the freezing cold Afghan winds, no matter how long, is unimportant for the soldiers.
'It's almost like the Olympics,' he said. 'You train and train and train ... and this is finally the big show.'
Dusk settles: U.S. Marines prepare to bed down in their tents just outside outside Marjah, where the battle will be
Mr Ainsworth, who has warned more casualties are a 'very real risk', said: 'We have seen an intense, hard and bloody period in Afghanistan but, as we prepare to consolidate our progress with the launch of Operation Moshtarak, it is imperative that we hold our resolve.
'Our presence in Afghanistan is vital in preventing it from once again becoming a haven for terrorists who would seek to threaten the UK.
'In taking the fight to the insurgents, providing security and hope for the Afghan people and building up their own security forces, we will - and must - succeed.'
Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, the head of the Armed Forces, said that while the Falklands milestone would attract attention but it would not deflect British soldiers' determination to succeed in the dangerous mission.
Grime milestone: 254 British servicemen died in the Falklands War, above - one less than in Afghanistan
The Chief of the Defence Staff said: 'Sad milestones such as this naturally attract attention in the UK, but in theatre our people continue resolutely and courageously with the task of assisting Afghans to build their own future.'We owe it to them to show resolve and to give them our utmost backing.'
Afghan defence minister General Abdul Rahim Wardak said he was 'deeply saddened' by the most recent British casualties.
He said: 'The deaths of UK service personnel and civilians are always tragic, but I hope that it is of some comfort to the families that their sacrifice is not in vain.
'The scourge of extremism and terrorism affects us all and we will continue to confront it together. We will never forget that, in our hour of need, you stood by us.'
Falklands veteran Simon Weston, who suffered severe burns during the war, said: 'The Falklands was a more conventional conflict - it was two armies wearing uniforms engaged against each other.
'Afghanistan is very different. Our boys and girls are fighting people using essentially guerrilla tactics. Unfortunately, when you fight terrorists and the Taliban, they don't wear uniforms.'
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