matrix
22nd May 2010, 08:37 AM
US to command UK troops in Helmand
British troops based in southern Afghanistan are to come under US command, in a major military command shake-up among Western forces occupying the country.
http://uc-njavan.ir/images/u9u08c12dkfqm227sb9e.jpg (http://uc-njavan.ir/)
The change, which, according to British military sources, will immediately affect 8,000 UK troops in the violence-ridden Helmand Province, was announced by Britain's Maj. Gen. Gordon Messenger in a London news conference on Friday, BBC reported.
While the British Prime Minister David Cameron has said in a Berlin news conference that the move “does not make sense,” Gen. Messenger insisted in London that the changes made “complete sense” and were “welcomed,” according to the report by the state-sponsored news network.
UK military sources have also attributed the change to growing British casualties in Helmand due to insufficient force levels.
Helmand is considered Afghanistan's most dangerous province for the occupation forces as dozens of foreign troops have lost their lives in Taliban attacks over recent months.
Britain has about 10,000 troops in Afghanistan, mostly based in the south of the country. The number of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan since 2001 stands at 286
British troops based in southern Afghanistan are to come under US command, in a major military command shake-up among Western forces occupying the country.
http://uc-njavan.ir/images/u9u08c12dkfqm227sb9e.jpg (http://uc-njavan.ir/)
The change, which, according to British military sources, will immediately affect 8,000 UK troops in the violence-ridden Helmand Province, was announced by Britain's Maj. Gen. Gordon Messenger in a London news conference on Friday, BBC reported.
While the British Prime Minister David Cameron has said in a Berlin news conference that the move “does not make sense,” Gen. Messenger insisted in London that the changes made “complete sense” and were “welcomed,” according to the report by the state-sponsored news network.
UK military sources have also attributed the change to growing British casualties in Helmand due to insufficient force levels.
Helmand is considered Afghanistan's most dangerous province for the occupation forces as dozens of foreign troops have lost their lives in Taliban attacks over recent months.
Britain has about 10,000 troops in Afghanistan, mostly based in the south of the country. The number of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan since 2001 stands at 286