Britain To Scale Back Attacks In Helmand After Killing 7,000 Taliban

Times Online:

BRITISH troops are to scale back attacks on the Taliban after killing 7,000 insurgents in two years of conflict, defence sources said last week.

7,000 fewer Taliban on the face of the earth earns you some serious kudos, I'd say. Talk about an impressive statistic.

The paratroopers of 16 Air Assault Brigade killed at least 1,000 Taliban during their first deployment to Helmand province in 2006. Since then another 6,000 Taliban insurgents have been killed by British troops, the sources said.

Not bad at all. Does anybody know the casualty ratio? I did a really quick search but couldn't find a good statistic.

Anyway, the reason for the scale down, apparently, is to allow for intensified reconstruction efforts.

The paratroopers’ commanders hope they can cut the deaths, which they fear are a boost for the Taliban when fighters recruited from the local population are killed, as the dead insurgent’s family then feels a debt of honour to take up arms against British soldiers.

The resultant fighting raises the profile of the Taliban and enhances their reputation in the local community.

“We aim to scale back our response to incidents to avoid getting sucked into a cycle of violence among local tribesmen,” said one officer. “This way we aim to continue the process of reducing the Taliban’s influence in Helmand.”

So let me get this straight. They're worried that they're killing too many of their enemies and that they're doing it too efficiently? No, no. That won't do at all. By all means, scale back your attacks. One man's opinion? Killing the Taliban goes a long way towards reducing their influence.

Regardless, this statistic speaks to the commitment and ability of British troops. The free world owes them a debt of gratitude.

For a better look at the UK's role in Afghanistan, check out this documentary by Ross Kemp who follows British troops in action in the Helmand province. These boys are unbelievable. True heroes.

There's some great footage in there. Here's the first part:



To watch the rest, follow the link.

Taliban To Phone Companies: "And If You Don't Cooperate, We'll Put A Jihad On You Too"

As if they don't have enough enemies, the Taliban have now declared Holy War on cell phone companies in Afghanistan that don't turn off their services between 5:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m. They claim that cell phone signals are being used by Canadian, US, and other coalition troops to track down insurgents and, well, they've had just about enough of it.

BBC News has the story:

The Taleban have threatened to blow up telephone masts across Afghanistan unless mobile phone companies agree to switch off their signals at night.

They say that US and other foreign troops are using the signals to track down insurgents.

The Taleban have warned the masts and offices of the mobile companies will be destroyed unless their demands are met. Mobiles were introduced after the Taleban fell in 2001 and are now the most popular way of communicating.

''If those companies do not stop their signal within three days, the Taleban will target their towers and their offices," Taleban spokesman Zabiullah Mujaheed said.

The Taleban say that Afghanistan's four mobile phone companies should stop operating between 1700 local time and 0300 the following morning.

Militants have threatened the companies in the past, accusing them of colluding with the US and other forces.

But communication experts say the US military uses satellites to pick up mobile signals and does not need the help of the phone companies anyway.

Emphasis mine.

"Gee, Mr. Taliban. Those Canadian and American troops sure seem to be killing a lot of you."

"What? No, no. It's the cell phones. We'd be winning for sure if they'd just turn off the signals."

H/t Hot Air