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Troops to root out Afghan terrorists(Daily Record Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)BRITISH forces are to hunt down terrorist groups who threaten their mission in southern Afghanistan. The troops, including the Paras, will take pre-emptive action against Taliban fighters or criminal drug lords if they feel they are at risk of attack. Some 3500 troops, based around units from 16 Air Assault Brigade, are being deployed to the lawless, opium-producing province of Helmand. A British force is expected to remain there for three years. The task force is part of NATO's expansion in the south and the biggest new British operational base since the World War II is being built to accommodate it. Defence Secretary John Reid, speaking in the Afghan capital Kabul, said the British mission to the south was to help stabilise and secure the area and build democracy and the economy. It was for forces in the US-instituted Operation Enduring Freedom to carry out "search and destroy" missions, looking for the Taliban and al-Qaeda. But he added there would inevitably be "overlap". Reid said: "We are here to stabilise and build the country and the Taliban and the terrorists want to stop us doing that. "If they attack us, we will defend ourselves. If defending ourselves at the operational level means taking pre-emptive action we will do that. That's a matter for commanders on the ground. "In any mission, if there is a threat our troops will take action. "If that means killing terrorists to safeguard our soldiers' lives, then they will do that. "We are in the south to help and protect the Afghan people construct their own democracy." |