Post by cammy on Jul 10, 2009 15:37:52 GMT 1
Two more British soldiers have died in southern Afghanistan, taking the death toll to nine in nine days – as Gordon Brown admitted UK troops were facing "a very hard summer".
Brown was returning to the UK tonight and was due to head straight to the Northwood headquarters of the armed forces in Hertfordshire for a private briefing with military chiefs about Afghanistan.
The Ministry of Defence said one soldier from 4th Battalion the Rifles was killed in an explosion while on foot patrol near Nad-e-Ali in Helmand province yesterday afternoon.
The other, from the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment attached to 1st Battalion the Welsh Guards, died after being shot during a battle with insurgents near Lashkar Gah in Helmand last night.
Speaking as the bodies of five other soldiers killed earlier this week arrived back in the UK, Brown admitted the past week had been very difficult. "It is at times like these that the people of Britain understand the sacrifice that has been made by our armed forces," he said.
The prime minister defended the role the UK troops were playing in Afghanistan, saying there was "a chain of terror" linking the country with the streets of the UK.
"We cannot allow southern Afghanistan to remain a lawless place sheltering terrorism, the drugs trade and destabilising the region … this is a very hard summer. It is not over."
Brown's comments came as hundreds of people turned out to line the high street in Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire, to pay their respects to the latest soldiers to die in the conflict.
A spokesman for Task Force Helmand, Lieutenant Colonel Nick Richardson, said: "These fine British soldiers paid the ultimate sacrifice and their memory will live with us forever"
The number of British troops who have died in Afghanistan since the start of operations in October 2001 stands at 178 – one short of the UK death toll in Iraq.
The deaths over the past nine days come in the third phase of a major offensive by US and UK forces aimed at cutting off the Taliban's opium supply, believed to be their chief source of funding.
The government has been criticised for failing to provide proper equipment. The former head of the armed forces, General Lord Guthrie, accused the government and the prime minister of spending the "minimum they could get away with" on UK troops in Afghanistan, putting soldiers at risk.
He told the Daily Mail that commanders on the ground were struggling with too few troops.
(Cammy)<><>By the way this news piece is lined up AFTER 'Worlds most expensive BURGER' .................................
Rest in Piece Lads.........
Brown was returning to the UK tonight and was due to head straight to the Northwood headquarters of the armed forces in Hertfordshire for a private briefing with military chiefs about Afghanistan.
The Ministry of Defence said one soldier from 4th Battalion the Rifles was killed in an explosion while on foot patrol near Nad-e-Ali in Helmand province yesterday afternoon.
The other, from the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment attached to 1st Battalion the Welsh Guards, died after being shot during a battle with insurgents near Lashkar Gah in Helmand last night.
Speaking as the bodies of five other soldiers killed earlier this week arrived back in the UK, Brown admitted the past week had been very difficult. "It is at times like these that the people of Britain understand the sacrifice that has been made by our armed forces," he said.
The prime minister defended the role the UK troops were playing in Afghanistan, saying there was "a chain of terror" linking the country with the streets of the UK.
"We cannot allow southern Afghanistan to remain a lawless place sheltering terrorism, the drugs trade and destabilising the region … this is a very hard summer. It is not over."
Brown's comments came as hundreds of people turned out to line the high street in Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire, to pay their respects to the latest soldiers to die in the conflict.
A spokesman for Task Force Helmand, Lieutenant Colonel Nick Richardson, said: "These fine British soldiers paid the ultimate sacrifice and their memory will live with us forever"
The number of British troops who have died in Afghanistan since the start of operations in October 2001 stands at 178 – one short of the UK death toll in Iraq.
The deaths over the past nine days come in the third phase of a major offensive by US and UK forces aimed at cutting off the Taliban's opium supply, believed to be their chief source of funding.
The government has been criticised for failing to provide proper equipment. The former head of the armed forces, General Lord Guthrie, accused the government and the prime minister of spending the "minimum they could get away with" on UK troops in Afghanistan, putting soldiers at risk.
He told the Daily Mail that commanders on the ground were struggling with too few troops.
(Cammy)<><>By the way this news piece is lined up AFTER 'Worlds most expensive BURGER' .................................
Rest in Piece Lads.........