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British Military Supplies In Afghanistan Being Depleted
London (AFP) Aug 28, 2006 British military forces in Afghanistan are using up missiles, rockets and spare parts at a faster rate than expected, The Daily Telegraph reported on Monday. The newspaper said one unnamed officer in Afghanistan predicted that the stocks of weapons and components that were meant to last until April next year, may be depleted "well before Christmas". All eight British Apache helicopters are being flown on a daily basis, even though it was intended that only six should fly every day, the newspaper said. A number of them have been hit by Taliban shooters, but none have been seriously damaged. The defense ministry was given one billion pounds (1.5 billion euros, 1.9 billion dollars) for the Afghanistan mission, money that is being used up at a much faster pace than expected, according to The Daily Telegraph's unnamed sources, and it may have to ask the Treasury for more money. The defence ministry disputed the claims, however, with a spokeswoman telling AFP: "There's no problems with re-supply." "The force package in Afghanistan is a full and robust package which was asked for by commanders on the ground. They are content with the package." "Of course, its always kept under review." Some 21 British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan -- 14 in combat -- since the start of operations against the Taliban in November 2001 following the September 11 attacks on the United States. Some 4,000 British troops are currently in Helmand province, with the figure set to rise to around 4,500. A further 1,000 are in the capital Kabul and a few hundred are in the southern city of Kandahar. There are about 30,000 foreign troops from 30 countries in Afghanistan. Although the Taliban were ousted from power five years ago, supporters of the extremist movement have this year stepped up attacks on foreign and Afghan troops.
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Afghanistan Can Go Either Way
Berlin (UPI) Aug 24, 2006Washington is under increasing pressure to stop the violence in Iraq. In Afghanistan, meanwhile, the situation is gradually deteriorating for the International Security Assistance Force, the U.N.-mandated peacekeeping mission. Add to that the simmering conflict in the Middle East, and it becomes clear the region is not more at peace today than it was before the U.S.-led Iraq war. |
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