British infantry to palm over Musa Qala to Americans

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British infantry are to palm over carry out of the largest locale in north Helmand to US forces as piece of a vital "rebalancing" of UK forces in Helmand, the Defence Secretary pronounced yesterday.

Speaking on a revisit to Helmand, the Defence Secretary, Bob Ainsworth, pronounced that Musa Qala would be handed over to US forces in the subsequent month and that "further changes" are approaching to safeguard that British forces have the "greatest outcome in tackling the hazard acted by the rebellion and safeguarding the municipal population."

The preference to palm over Musa Qala to US forces had been one of a array of options underneath care by comparison Nato commanders. In Jan The Times reported that British infantry were approaching to be pulled out of Musa Qala, Kajaki and presumably the iconic locale of Sangin.

However, the head of Strategic Communications for the Ministry of Defence, Major-General Gordon Messenger, insisted yesterday that the handover of Musa Qala is not a preface to a withdrawal of British forces from Sangin.

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"There is no approaching awaiting of Sangin being handed over," he said. He combined that there is no proclamation on the destiny of Kajaki at present.

Fifty British soldiers have been killed in fighting around Sangin given last summer, 6 of them given the begin of March.

British infantry creatively changed in to Musa Qala in Jun of 2006 to opposite Taleban attacks that in jeopardy to intimidate diseased internal security forces in the town. In late 2006 British forces withdrew from Musa Qala underneath the conditions of a argumentative understanding that saw internal tribes promises to bar the Taliban and oversee the town.

However, Taliban fighters retook Musa Qala in Feb 2007 and hold it compartment Dec when it was retaken in a vital descent by a churned US and UK force. The retaking of the locale was aided by the desertion of a internal Taleban commander, Mullah Abdul Salaam, who was subsequently commissioned as the internal district governor.

Twenty-three British soldiers have died in and around the town. General Messenger pronounced that British forces would leave at the back of a success story.

"We are handing over a success story, a going concern, where swell is underneath way," he said.

British officers on the belligerent pronounced that the locale had seen small assault in new months with the security burble right away lengthened so that Taleban mortars could no longer reach Musa Qala itself.

The Defence Secretary paid reverence to those British soldiers killed around the town:

"Through their professionalism and courage, and that of their colleagues, mutinous wake up in the district centre has been contained, the management of the bona fide Afghan supervision has been reinforced, and there has been solid swell on governance and development, generally in the last twelve months, as the every day lives of the adults have been improved. While shortcoming for security will right away send to US forces, the UK will sojourn committed to construction on the swell of growth by the ongoing activities of the UK-led Helmand Provincial Reconstruction Team in Musa Qala."

Since 2008 American forces have progressively stretched their participation to one side British forces in Helmand. Today they are around 20,000 in series compared to the UK participation of 10,000.

American forces have already taken over carry out of Garmser in the south of the range and Nawzad in the north-west from British forces. The British forces liberated up from Musa Qala are approaching to be changed to the majority populous executive districts of the range as piece of the "population-centric" counter-insurgency plan of the Nato commander, General Stanley McChrystal.

The Defence Secretary pronounced yesterday: "The thickening of the force firmness in executive Helmand will concede us to go on the swell over the last twelve months in augmenting the importance on partnering and precision the Afghan National Security Forces and will reaffirm the executive purpose in delivering General McChrystal"s population-focused counter-insurgency approach, both of that are key elements of [the] plan to better the rebellion and set up a fast and secure Afghanistan,"

The handover to US forces is approaching to take place in the subsequent month as the stream British band of soldiers in Helmand, eleven Light Brigade, are transposed by 4 Mechanized Brigade.

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