UK forces to be put under US command

BRITISH troops in Afghanistan's Helmand Province are to be placed under the operational command of the United States, it was announced yesterday.

As part of a restructuring plan, command and control in the south of the country will be split into two areas, according to the MoD. Command will be rotated between US and UK forces under the new structure.

The first commander in Helmand will be Major General Richard Mills, of the US Marine Corps. Major General Gordon Messenger said the UK, which has about 10,000 troops in Afghanistan, including 8,000 in Helmand, had been "closely involved" in the preparations for the change, insisting: "It in no way indicates that things have been going wrong previously."

It was a "coalition campaign" and was seen as such by the coalition partners, he stressed.