British troop numbers in Afghanistan to top 10,000 as PM announces surge

Published on Monday 30 November 2009 21:55

BRITAIN'S deployment to Afghanistan will exceed 10,000 soldiers after Gordon Brown pledged to dispatch an extra 500 troops to the war-torn country.

The British troop boost will arrive before Christmas, despite earlier promises that no more forces would be sent without a clear commitment from other Nato allies that an additional 5,000 soldiers would be sent.

The Prime Minister insisted other countries would announce more troops imminently, but declined to name which countries had signed up.

Mr Brown also broke protocol to confirm British special forces were operating in Afghanistan.

In total, there will be 9,500 troops, but Downing Street said there were more than 500 special forces operating in Afghanistan.

In a statement to MPs, Mr Brown said: "At this time of increasing military effort, it is right to give a more comprehensive account of our total military commitment to the Afghan campaign."

He said the public had a right to know "that our highly professional, widely respected and extraordinarily brave special forces" were taking the fight to the Taleban.

Mr Brown's statement came ahead of a video conference last night with US president Barack Obama, who is expected to confirm today that about 30,000 more US troops will join the surge.

A Downing Street spokesman said of their discussion: "They agreed on the importance of combining military and political strategies in Afghanistan, as well as on the need for continued action by Pakistan.

"They acknowledged good progress on burden- sharing, and agreed that they would continue to encourage (Nato] allies to do more."

However, Mr Obama has warned that his country's commitment is not open-ended and is working on an exit strategy behind the scenes.

Extra equipment had also been sent to Afghanistan, meeting another condition for more UK troops. Additional Merlin helicopters were approved yesterday, along with more heavily armoured vehicles, such as Mastiffs.

Mr Brown said helicopter flying hours had doubled in three years and would increase by a further 20 per cent in the months ahead.

An exit strategy is expected to be drafted at a conference in London on January, chaired by Mr Brown and attended by Afghan president Hamid Karzai and foreign ministers.

Afghan forces are being trained to take over eventually from Nato. There are expected to be 134,000 Afghan troops by next year, up from 90,000.

The strategy was "not to rely exclusively on allied forces", but to train Afghan forces to take over.

Mr Brown said the first districts and provinces could "potentially" be handed over to Afghan control during next year, depending on them being ready to do so with more trained troops and better policing.

But Conservative Party leader David Cameron warned the Prime Minister not to use the timetable for handing back Afghan provinces for political gain.

He said Mr Brown had told MPs the conference would set the conditions for transferring control.

"Can you assure the country and our forces as we approach the general election that any suggestion about timetables or handover will be based on a hard-headed assessment of the situation on the ground?" Mr Cameron asked the Prime Minister.

"Isn't it the case that the British public want us to do what is right, not to speculate and to risk the danger of raising false hopes?"

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg welcomed the Prime Minister's "dramatic" change of tone, adding: "It has finally become mainstream to talk about the need for a big shift in our strategy in Afghanistan."

The challenge of the operation was underlined when it was later announced another British soldier had been killed.

The serviceman, from 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, died from wounds suffered in an explosion in the Babaji area of Helmand province yesterday. Next of kin have been informed.