MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Afghan death toll mounts and UK government suggests possible scaling down

Defence secretary Bob Ainsworth forced to routinely “grim” reports

Britain’s Defence secretary Bob Ainsworth has suggested that the UK's role in Afghanistan could be scaled down over the next 12 months, as the death toll passed the 200 mark. Ainsworth said that reaching the sad milestone, after the 204th soldier was killed, was “grim”.

But he went on: “I genuinely believe that in the next year or so that we will be able to show a degree of progress.”

He went on: “It will not be at a situation where we will be able to pull back, but we will increasingly see the Afghan national army taking the front. We will be more in a mentoring and a training situation, you know, giving them the steer and the capacity and the knowledge to be able to do the job that they will need to do.”

The remarks, made on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, were greeted with scepticism by opposition parties, who accused the Government of spinning to try to cover up its errors.

Shadow defence secretary Liam Fox said: “Has the Government made an agreement with the Americans to hand over Helmand to them? If so we should be told about it. Or is it just spin designed to detract from the failure of the Government to fully equip our troops in Afghanistan?”

Three British soldiers from The 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers died after they were attacked while on patrol near Sangin in Helmand Province this morning, the Ministry of Defence said. Next of kin have been informed.

An earlier casualty was from 2nd Battalion The Royal Welsh, and died at the Royal College of Defence Medicine, in Selly Oak, West Midlands. His vehicle patrol had been hit by a roadside bomb near Musa Qal'eh in Helmand Province on Thursday morning.

Another serviceman was from 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. He was caught up in an explosion while on a foot patrol near Sangin in Helmand Province. Both men's next of kin have been informed.

Gordon Brown expressed his “sorrow” at the news, but insisted that the mission in Afghanistan remained ”vital”.