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UK establishing own command centre for Afghan operations

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

London, Nov 8, IRNA
UK Command Centre-Afghanistan
The British government is planning to set up its own command and control centre in the UK for future operations in Afghanistan following the completion of the Nato-led international security force that is planned until 2009.

Defence Secretary Des Browne said that he was announcing the "formation of a temporary brigade headquarters to command UK forces in Afghanistan over the period October 2009 to April 2010".

"The brigade which will be known as 11 Light Brigade, will be formed from existing service personnel and will be based in Aldershot," southern England, Browne said in a parliamentary statement, published Thursday.

The current deployment of UK troops in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led international security assistance force is planned for the ext two years, but the British government has always insisted that its commitment to Afghanistan is a long-term one.

"The precise size and duration of the UK military in Afghanistan will depend on a number of factors, including the ability of Afghan security forces to take greater responsibility for the security of their own country," the defence secretary said.

"However, to ensure that any forces we might deploy are properly prepared and commanded, it is necessary for the brigade headquarters to be established now. We will keep our planning assumption under review but currently we assess that this HQ would disband on its return from Afghanistan," he said.

British troops in Afghanistan have almost doubled to more than 7,000 since the deployment started last year to take on a combative role in the southern province of Helmand to fight insurgents from the overthrown Taliban regime.

But the deployment has come under pressure by the failure of other Nato members outside the US to provide more troops and has resulted in a growing number of British military fatalities and casualties.

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