British soldiers killed in action to be named; 3 troops died at weekend

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), July 6, 2009

THREE British soldiers killed in separate attacks in Afghanistan while taking part in one of the UK military's biggest co-ordinated air operations of modern times were due to be named today, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.

The trio were involved in "deliberate" operations near Gereshk in central Helmand, southern Afghanistan, as part of Operation Panchai Palang - or Panthers Claw - over the weekend.

Their deaths took the number of UK service personnel killed in Afghanistan since the start of operations in October 2001 to 174. Next of kin have been informed.

A soldier from 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment was killed by a rocket propelled grenade attack and a soldier from The Light Dragoons was killed by a contact explosion on Saturday, the MoD said.

The third soldier, who was killed in a contact explosion while on foot, was a member of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards - the battalion commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe, who became the most senior British Army officer to be killed since the Falklands War last week.

Lt Col Thorneloe was killed in a blast which hit his Viking armoured vehicle near Lashkar Gah in Helmand province on Wednesday.

They were all taking part in Operation Panthers Claw, which was launched to drive the Taliban out of strongholds in and around Babaji, north of Lashkar Gah, Helmand.

Lieutenant Colonel Nick Richardson, a spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said: "The loss of these soldiers, and colleagues, has come as a huge blow to us all.

"But it is the family, friends and loved ones, as well as the men and women who served alongside them, who feel the greatest pain and we offer them our deepest and heartfelt condolences, thoughts and prayers and take consolation from the fact that their deaths are not in vain."

Last week, nearly 4,000 newly-arrived US Marines and 650 Afghan troops launched a massive pre-dawn operation in Taliban-controlled areas of Helmand.

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.

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 more remote parts of Helmand, while the British retain responsibility for the more densely-populated central and eastern areas.

COMMENT: PAGE 6 ONE STEP AHEAD OF THE TALIBAN: PAGE 9