Britain is to send 140 more soldiers to Afghanistan to help fight the Taliban in Helmand province, as the bodies of eight British troops who died in the conflict were flown home. The additional unit will "reinforce the momentum generated by recent operations", the Ministry of Defence in London said today in a statement.
The troops, from B Company of the Second Battalion Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, will be deployed today and tomorrow from a base in Cyprus, the ministry said. They will join some 9,000 British soldiers taking part in 'Panther's Claw', a British offensive aimed at improving security in preparation for the Afghan presidential election next month.
The bodies of the eight soldiers, who died on July 9th and 10th, were taken to the Royal Air Force base at Lyneham in the southwestern English county of Wiltshire.
A private ceremony was held at noon local time, with a procession through the nearby town of Wootton Bassett set to follow.
The deaths brought to 184 the total number of British service personnel to have died in Afghanistan since operations began in 2001, according to a tally on the ministry's website. That's more than the 179 who were killed in six years of fighting in Iraq, where British operations have ended.
Prime minister Gordon Brown's Labour government is facing renewed criticism that its forces in Afghanistan are hampered by a shortage of equipment and resources. The recent spike in British casualties has also moved defense issues up the agenda with Britons, a poll published today suggests.
The percentage of people who believe "defence and the armed forces" is a top priority, doubled in the past week to 32 percent fro m 16 per cent, according to the survey of 1241 adults conducted by PoliticsHome between July 13th and 14th.
A total of 66 percent of respondents said they believe defence spending shouldn't be slashed, with 64 per cent of Labour party supporters and 79 per cent of opposition Conservative party voters saying it should be protected from spending cuts.
British troop numbers have risen from their usual level of about 8,300 for Operation Panther's Claw, near Gereshk in southern Helmand. They have been joined by about 4,000 US and 650 Afghan troops.
Mr Brown pledged yesterday to review troop numbers after the Afghan elections. He also insisted the armed forces have the manpower and equipment to do the job.
Bloomberg