LASHKARGAH (SW): Mohammad Rasool Zazai, spokesman for the 215-Maiwand Corps has confirmed the arrival of U.S. troops in Helmand in a bid to thwart the threats to security posed by the advancing militants.
Zazai expressed confidence about the troops’ level in the province and mentioned that the British Ministry of Defense has assured them that they would also deploy some more soldiers to consolidate the security of Helmand. “We can confirm the arrival of U.S. Army men and we have been assured by the Ministry of Defense that the British too would join us shortly”.
The spokesman asserted that security situation was improving in Sangin.
A resident in Sangin however, told Salam Watandar that some 180 soldiers are still surrounded by the Taliban and fighting for their survival. Much of the district has still been under the siege of the Taliban. Some 60 security personnel have reportedly been killed during clashes with the rebels.
“My brother is among the security personnel surrounded by Taliban”, an Afghan National Police (ANP) man, Muhammad Juma told Salam Watandar on mobile.
Meanwhile, the British Ministry of Defence has said a small number of personnel had been sent to Camp Shorabak – better known as Camp Bastion – in an "advisory role".
They will not be in combat and are part of a larger Nato team, the MoD said. UK combat operations in Afghanistan ended last year, but around 450 troops remain in mentoring and support roles.
Talking to BBC, Maj Richard Streatfield, who spent seven months in Sangin in 2009 and 2010 with the Rifles, criticized the exit strategy of the U.S. and the U.K.
In his remarks, Maj Streatfield also mentioned the aspects of Pakistan’s military and intelligence supporting militancy in Afghanistan.
ENDS
