- Reaction score
- 3
- Points
- 430
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2013249.ece
Tim Albone in Helmand, and Michael Evans, Defence Editor
Two British troops were killed in southern Afghanistan over the weekend in separate clashes with insurgents.
Captain Sean Dolan from the 1st Battalion The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters was killed in a gun battle on Saturday when forces came across a group of Taleban setting up an ambush. He had been acting as a liaison officer between his battalion and a joint American and Afghan operation southwest of Sangin in northern Helmand.
One soldier from 19 Regiment Royal Artillery died of his wounds after being ambushed yesterday by gunmen armed with Kalashnikovs and rocket-propelled grenades.
Five other soldiers were injured in the attack in the centre of Gareshk in central Helmand.
The casualties came as British officers expressed growing frustration that US forces operating outside Nato’s chain of command were jeopardising their efforts to win Afghan hearts and minds in Helmand.
The American units, largely made up of Green Beret Special Forces and Marines, were responsible for an airstrike late on Friday that local officials claimed killed as many as 45 civilians.
The soldiers are working on antiterrorism operations and hunting down al-Qaeda leaders, operating independently from the Nato-led International Security and Assistance Forces (ISAF).
British troops in Helmand operate under an ISAF mandate and have stricter rules of engagement, concentrating on reconstruction and counter-insurgency.
“The Americans will lose the war for us. They have no idea about counter-insurgency and they have no idea about winning hearts and minds,” one British officer told The Times.
The American troops operate in much smaller numbers than their British allies and often find themselves outnumbered and surrounded. Often their only option is to call in air support.
According to Dur Ali Shah, the mayor of Gereshk, and Muhammad Hussein Andiwal, the provincial police chief, 45 civilians, as well as up to 35 Taleban fighters, were killed in Friday’s raid. According to village elders, a further 23 civilians were injured.
President Karzai, who has repeatedly expressed his dismay at civilian casualties, accused Western forces of viewing Afghan lives as “cheap”, has set up a commission to investigate the deaths.
The US-led coalition said that airstrikes were called in after their troops, operating with Afghan forces, came under attack. Major Chris Belcher, an American spokesman, said: “We are deeply saddened by any loss of innocent lives. Insurgents are continuing their tactic of using women and children as human shields in close combat with friendly forces.”
Tim Albone in Helmand, and Michael Evans, Defence Editor
Two British troops were killed in southern Afghanistan over the weekend in separate clashes with insurgents.
Captain Sean Dolan from the 1st Battalion The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters was killed in a gun battle on Saturday when forces came across a group of Taleban setting up an ambush. He had been acting as a liaison officer between his battalion and a joint American and Afghan operation southwest of Sangin in northern Helmand.
One soldier from 19 Regiment Royal Artillery died of his wounds after being ambushed yesterday by gunmen armed with Kalashnikovs and rocket-propelled grenades.
Five other soldiers were injured in the attack in the centre of Gareshk in central Helmand.
The casualties came as British officers expressed growing frustration that US forces operating outside Nato’s chain of command were jeopardising their efforts to win Afghan hearts and minds in Helmand.
The American units, largely made up of Green Beret Special Forces and Marines, were responsible for an airstrike late on Friday that local officials claimed killed as many as 45 civilians.
The soldiers are working on antiterrorism operations and hunting down al-Qaeda leaders, operating independently from the Nato-led International Security and Assistance Forces (ISAF).
British troops in Helmand operate under an ISAF mandate and have stricter rules of engagement, concentrating on reconstruction and counter-insurgency.
“The Americans will lose the war for us. They have no idea about counter-insurgency and they have no idea about winning hearts and minds,” one British officer told The Times.
The American troops operate in much smaller numbers than their British allies and often find themselves outnumbered and surrounded. Often their only option is to call in air support.
According to Dur Ali Shah, the mayor of Gereshk, and Muhammad Hussein Andiwal, the provincial police chief, 45 civilians, as well as up to 35 Taleban fighters, were killed in Friday’s raid. According to village elders, a further 23 civilians were injured.
President Karzai, who has repeatedly expressed his dismay at civilian casualties, accused Western forces of viewing Afghan lives as “cheap”, has set up a commission to investigate the deaths.
The US-led coalition said that airstrikes were called in after their troops, operating with Afghan forces, came under attack. Major Chris Belcher, an American spokesman, said: “We are deeply saddened by any loss of innocent lives. Insurgents are continuing their tactic of using women and children as human shields in close combat with friendly forces.”
