British troops assist ANA offensive in Sangin

KABUL operation in the Sangin district of southern Helmand province, a media report said on Sunday.

In response to a request from Afghan commanders, the British soldiers returned to the restive area for a week-long operation to flush out the insurgents, the BBC reported.

The British involvement was part of a major operation by 215 Corps of the Afghan National Army (ANA) to clear insurgents in the Sangin district of Helmand Province, in the south.

Some 80 solders of 4th Battalion The Rifles, based at Camp Bastion in Helmand province, were involved in the offensive, with the Ministry of Defence saying some fighters had been killed or captured.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond had personally authorised the British forces’ return to Sangin, according to the Sunday Times, which said the operation was reported after it had finished due to the threat to the troops.

The British involvement was part of a major operation by 215the Corps of the Afghan National Army (ANA) to clear insurgents in the Sangin district of Helmand province.

More than 30 improvised explosive devices were found and destroyed and two insurgent vehicles were seized along with ammunition and weapons during the operation by 215th Corps of the Afghan National Army.

A spokesman for the military said: “Between 2006 and 2010, UK forces provided vital security for the population of Sangin, disrupting the insurgency in an area the Taliban had considered its heartland…”

PAN Monitor/mud

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