Two more soldiers killed in Afghanistan
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Independent Minds
Two British soldiers have been killed in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence said today.
Another six members of Nato forces were wounded in the attack in Helmand Province yesterday involving an improvised explosive device (IED).
News of the British fatalities came as American forces launched a massive pre-dawn operation in Taliban-controlled areas of Helmand.
One of the dead soldiers was serving with the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, the other was a member of the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said the soldiers were killed while on Operation Panthers Claw near Lashkar Gah in central Helmand province.
Spokesman for Task Force Helmand, Lieutenant Colonel Nick Richardson, said: "The loss of these brave soldiers has hit us all very deeply; we grieve for them at this very sad time.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with their families, friends and colleagues who feel the greatest loss."
The MoD said the soldiers' next of kin had been informed and had asked for a 24 hour period of grace before further details were released.
Commenting on the casualties, Brigadier-General Eric Tremblay, spokesman for Nato's International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) in Afghanistan, said: "I wish to convey our most sincere sympathies to the family members and friends of these brave soldiers.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with them in this most difficult time.
"Isaf's efforts are dangerous and difficult but we are committed to helping build a safe and prosperous Afghanistan and we will succeed in this endeavour."
The deaths took the number of UK servicemen and women who have died in Afghanistan since the start of operations in October 2001 to 171.
Today's US operation in Helmand involved nearly 4,000 newly-arrived US Marines and 650 Afghan troops.
The operation - named Khanjar, or Strike of the Sword - is aimed at clearing insurgents from the region ahead of Afghanistan's presidential election in August.
It follows the British assault, Operation Panthers Claw, launched to drive the Taliban out of strongholds in and around Babaji, north of Lashkar Gah in Helmand.
Some 350 troops from the Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, launched the attack on June 19 in one of the UK military's biggest co-ordinated air operations of modern times.
The bulk of the 9,000 British servicemen and women in Afghanistan - including around 700 personnel sent out to provide extra security in the run-up to the election - are stationed in Helmand.
Limited numbers of American forces have been operating in Helmand for some time, including around the town of Now Zad.
But in recent months they have been bolstered by around 10,000 extra troops as part of US President Barack Obama's military surge in Afghanistan.
Senior British officers acknowledge UK forces are stretched in Helmand but say they are not being "bailed out" by the Americans.
They point out that the new US troops have moved into remoter parts of Helmand, while the British retain responsibility for the more densely-populated central and eastern areas.
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Comments
Who gives a toss how brave they might have been?
Intelligence and rationality are far more desirable. These poor mugs died for nothing and were very likely totally misguided about what Tremblay was attempting to achieve.
One thing they could have bet on, if they were still alive, is that the Afghans were never going to accept defeat. History must be taken into account. To suppose that they would ever be acclaimed as conquering victors was absurd. Sincere sympathies - what a sick joke!
I have read many of your posts and always treated them with the disregard they deserved.
May i ask what have you ever done to help your fellow human or country?
Been on a few protests with the UAF, Green Peace, Open Borders, Search Light, Not in my name, Labour Against the War? Yeah, i can picture you right now, as far left as the left can go comrade.
Spit your vile words anywhere you like, but do not denigrate the sacrifice of our young soldiers with your abusive "suckers" comment.
There is a march in Birmingham for our soldiers this weekend, perhaps you would like to air your views there, I would dearly love to meet you! I'll be the one with the Green Beret waving the Cross of St George and the Union flags.
In reply:
I have tried to enlighten the pig-ignorant and braindead towards realising the error of their ways.
What have you ever done? Murder somebody because you were told to do so?
When you have seen kids with their hands, feet, fingers or toes cut off by these Islamic Pigs, because they have accepted aid for their scabs and sores. Go on enlighten me oh Oracle.
Girls forced into marriages burn themselves with kerosene or petrol to try and commit suicide, but more often than not they end up being horribly disfigured, suffer excruciating pain for many months, and quite often die. I must be pig-ignorant to believe that is the norm.
Young girls have acid thrown in their face, because the monkeys that are the Taliban, object to them not covering up completely with the Niqab, or if they have been really disobedient and tried to get an education they get shot. Obviously these young girls have erred in their ways according to rat faced Mr Taliban, and the cowards who support them.
Lets not forget the teacher who had his head cut off in front of his own children because he removed a sign, from the pestilence that is the Taliban, warning students to stay away. After this horror the young girls were raped, and the young boy shot, as cowardly Mr aliban would not want him growing up wanting revenge, they would shit themselves each night. Boo the bogey man is coming Mrs Pussy Taliban.
The best has to be the way the Taliban enlighten their people. The young are gathered together in large groups, and without sleep for days on end are forced to recite the Quran, repeatedly watch propoganda videos showing "martyrs" in action (double standards here since the mad mullahs banned personal forms of entertainment, tvs' radios, videos, singing, you get my idea, normal life) gloriously blowing up a crowded market where the starving population of men, women and children go to get what food they can.
The adults are "obliged" to offer Alms, an offering, to the thuggish Taliban leaders. he young men are forced into the ranks of the Taliban, to fight a conflict they have no wish to be in.
Why do you think most of the fighters in Afghanistan are not Afghanis? They are Pakistanis, Nigerian, Chechyen, even English Muslims, all fighting for their "brothers and sisters", but if you ask the Afghanis, they don't want them there causing terror and death.
Have I murdered anyone? No, but i have saved many lives.
So knuckle dragger, aprildogshit, please enlighten me and the rest of the readers, hell enlighten the whole country. I will give you a speaking podium this Saturday if you want. Express your views, this is a democratic country, open to learning. Come on, i guarantee you a welcome you will never forget, and an educational experience well beyond any campus or university meeting you will have been to.
The Taliban are an insult to Mulims and the faith of Islam.
They find it far easier to collect their dole money, go to the local Uni bar where they get tanked up on reduced priced beer and halfcut drugs, and discuss through a blur how they are going to put the world to rights. Don't you know among the far left it is trendy to be in a "ethnically struggling group", but they wont want to put themselves out by volunteering for the Red Cross, or Medic St Frontieres as these people go out where the shit hits the fan, and sustain casualties.
Who knows, maybe, just maybe, some of these knuckle draggers may grow some balls and do something good for once in their pitiful existence.
My thoughts go out to the six young soldiers who were also injured, let's hope they are not to seriously hurt!
I noticed none of the left wing knuckle draggers were at Exeter today protesting when the lads came home. Hmmm I think they are chicken shit, yellow bellies,with no back bone or loyalty.
It was great to see in the crowd sikhs, muslims, pakistanis, indians, black and white people all joined in one common cause, to say thank you to our brave service personnel.
Kit is getting out to the troops, but it is this bloody government giving hundreds of millions away on foreign aid, battling asylum sekers, paying the EU 40 Mil a day as well as trying to solve our mass immigration problem.
Interestingly just before Blair left, LDV had a nice contract going to tender for an all terrain MFV with Mastiff the yank designer, but Bliar wanted closer ties with Europe and gave the contract to Mann for far inferior vehicles.
Now that Operation Khanjar has begun the Brits will now be able to move out further, take areas and hand over the defence area to the AFNG or US relief, while they carry on combat operations.
In roles like this our blokes are amongst the best in the world, training relentlessly various tactics and scenarios, just so they can eliminate the enemy and get out as safe as possible.
God Bless Them All