News Brief – September 6, 2006
Britain’s Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday that more British soldier were killed and injured in southern Afghanistan.
According to a spokeswoman, a total of six were wounded and three killed in three seperate incidents. Five of the six injured are believed to be in a serious condition.
One of the incidents took place in the north of troubled Helmand province, where Britain has about 4,000 troops as part of a NATO peace force.
The men are believed to have strayed into an unmarked minefield.
One soldier was killed in the incident.
A second soldier was killed in another clash in the province.
The third fatality was a soldier who had been wounded in a previous clash last Friday and who later died of his injuries.
Meanwhile Nato's top commander, General James Jones, has urged member countries to provide reinforcements to the mission in southern Afghanistan.
He admitted the military alliance had been taken aback by the strength of the Taliban's resistance.
A British NATO commander has described the recent fighting in Afghanistan as some of the fiercest since the Korean War 50 years ago.
Which means the British army may be in for a torrid time in Afghanistan.
Last Tuesday the chief of Britain's Army general staff said that British troops would probably remain in Afghanistan for longer than the three years announced by the government.
As this website keeps repeating: those who won’t learn from the lessons of the past are doomed to repeat them. First the armies of Queen Victoria suffered defeat there, then the Red army was forced to withdraw from Afghanistan and now Britain’s NATO contingent may be about to learn the same lesson there, again.
Last updated 09/09/2006
Homepage