Defence Secretary Des Browne was expected to announce details on Monday of promised reinforcements for the 3Â 300 British troops in Afghanistan whom he admits are facing an “energised” Taliban.
Browne revealed last week that commanders in the restive southern province of Helmand, where six British soldiers have died in the last month, had asked for more troops because of the unexpected level of resistance there.
He is due to set out details in a statement to the House of Commons.
The 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers is currently on standby for operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, while reports claim they will be joined by members of the 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment.
They will reportedly form a 600- to 700-strong force to supplement the 3 Para battle group already in Afghanistan. Additional helicopter support, engineers and armoured vehicles may also be sent.
The expected deployment comes after Browne admitted in an interview on Saturday that the British presence in Helmand has “energised” the Taliban, the hard-line former rulers of Afghanistan ousted by United States-led forces in 2001.
But he defended Britain’s role there, despite the recent military fatalities, saying it was vital for security in Afghanistan and to prevent the resurgence of al-Qaeda-linked groups.
Britain is due to head a Nato-led peacekeeping force in Helmand from the end of July, taking over control of security from the US military.
The mission aims to rid the area of Taliban violence, rebuild the economy and replace widespread opium farming with alternative livelihoods.
Britain has 3Â 300 troops in Helmand and another 1Â 000 in the capital Kabul, according to the Ministry of Defence.
They are involved with Afghan, Canadian and US soldiers in a major anti-Taliban operation, Mountain Thrust, which has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of militants since it was launched mid-May.
In the latest round of violence, a Canadian soldier was killed on Sunday during an assault on a Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan.
It followed the death of a Peruvian soldier serving with a Spanish contingent of the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force in a blast in western Afghanistan on Saturday.
An upsurge of Taliban-linked violence has killed more than 50 foreign soldiers in the country this year, most of them Americans. — AFP