Troops shocked by ferocity of Taleban

Soldiers deployed in Afghanistan's Helmand province five years after the United States-led invasion, and six months after the deployment of a large British force, say the sheer ferocity of fighting in the Sangin valley, and privations faced by the troops, are far worse than generally known.

"We are flattening places we have already flattened, but the attacks have kept coming. We have killed them by the dozens, but more keep coming, either locally or from across the border," one said.

"We have used B1 bombers, Harriers, F16s and Mirage 2000s. At one point our Apaches [helicopter gunships] ran out of missiles, they have fired so many.

"Almost any movement on the ground gets ambushed. We need an entire battle group to move things. Yet they will not give us the helicopters we have been asking for.

"We have also got problems with the Afghan forces. The Army ... is pretty good, although they are often not paid properly. But many of the police will not fight the Taleban."

An officer who has served in Helmand said: "We did not expect the ferocity of the engagements. We also expected the Taleban to carry out hit and run raids. Instead we have often been fighting toe to toe, endless close-quarters combat ...

"We have greater firepower so we tend to win ... You also have to think that each time we kill one, how many more enemies we are creating ... the lack of security means hardly any reconstruction ... we are not exactly winning hearts and minds."

In the market town of Lashkar Gar, Afghan civilians are increasingly concerned about security. One man said: "We are not safe now; it is more dangerous than it was just a few months ago."

- INDEPENDENT