The Scotsman
Army fires warning in first Taleban clash
JOSIE CLARKE AND NOOR KHAN
IN KANDAHAR
British troops have been deployed to the province to provide security for the country's authorities tackling the combined threat of opium production and the Taleban rebels. Picture: Getty
BRITISH soldiers have fired on Taleban fighters for the first time since their deployment in Afghanistan's dangerous Helmand province.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said troops fired "warning shots" against the insurgents during an operation supporting Afghan national police. He said: "A company of about nine troops fired warning shots against the enemy force, largely Taleban, over the weekend."
British troops have been deployed to the province to provide security for the country's authorities tackling the combined threat of opium production and the Taleban rebels.
Captain Drew Gibson, a spokesman for the army, said:
"As the Afghan national police and [United States-led] coalition forces moved further north, the British forces provided support and an over-watch facility.
"They have seen suspected Taleban in the area, who have been moved into position. They have fired at them to deter them from attacking the Afghan police or coalition forces."
The British commander in Helmand, Brigadier Ed Butler, refused to be drawn on claims that insurgents were infiltrating Afghanistan from neighbouring Pakistan after receiving training from Pakistani military intelligence.
"I think it is a bit early to tell where the foreign fighters are coming from, but clearly we have porous borders all around Afghanistan and those are of concern to us from a military perspective," he said.
scotsman.com
Army fires warning in first Taleban clash
JOSIE CLARKE AND NOOR KHAN
IN KANDAHAR
British troops have been deployed to the province to provide security for the country's authorities tackling the combined threat of opium production and the Taleban rebels. Picture: Getty
BRITISH soldiers have fired on Taleban fighters for the first time since their deployment in Afghanistan's dangerous Helmand province.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said troops fired "warning shots" against the insurgents during an operation supporting Afghan national police. He said: "A company of about nine troops fired warning shots against the enemy force, largely Taleban, over the weekend."
British troops have been deployed to the province to provide security for the country's authorities tackling the combined threat of opium production and the Taleban rebels.
Captain Drew Gibson, a spokesman for the army, said:
"As the Afghan national police and [United States-led] coalition forces moved further north, the British forces provided support and an over-watch facility.
"They have seen suspected Taleban in the area, who have been moved into position. They have fired at them to deter them from attacking the Afghan police or coalition forces."
The British commander in Helmand, Brigadier Ed Butler, refused to be drawn on claims that insurgents were infiltrating Afghanistan from neighbouring Pakistan after receiving training from Pakistani military intelligence.
"I think it is a bit early to tell where the foreign fighters are coming from, but clearly we have porous borders all around Afghanistan and those are of concern to us from a military perspective," he said.
scotsman.com