Boost For UK Troops

UK forces have pushed deeper and faster than expected into lawless territory in southern Afghanistan, their commander has claimed.

Brigadier Ed Butler said troops had set up outposts in towns that had had no security presence for decades.

Brig Butler, commander of the British contingent in Afghanistan, said his troops were two months ahead of schedule moving into the remote mountains in Helmand province.

He said the plan was to move into those towns in August, but that his forces had already set up five remote "platoon houses" manned by between 12 and 60 paratroopers.

About 3,000 UK troops have been deploying in the dangerous south of the country as part of a NATO peacekeeping force.

One British soldier - Captain Jim Philippson, of 7 Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery - has been killed in action since the deployment began.

Brig Butler said: "We've done far more than we thought we'd do. We've challenged insecurity in far more places.

"This is a tactical success which we've exploited. A couple of months ago, northern Helmand looked really threatening. It looks less threatening now."

He said British forces had killed 20 to 30 Taliban guerrillas in the past few months in a series of operations that included air strikes from Apache attack helicopters.

Thousands of British troops are now taking part in the US-led Operation Mountain Thrust, described as one of the biggest offensives since the overthrow of the Taliban regime in 2001.

Brig Butler said: "The Coalition have been going into more places, so we have been coming up against more Taliban.

"The lawless areas where people haven't been for 30 years, we're going to those areas. So they have fewer places to hide."