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UK special forces to spearhead offensive against Taliban - report

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

London, Aug 19, IRNA

UK-Afghanistan

Britain's special forces are to spearhead a new offensive against the Taliban in Afghanistan amid plans to increase troop numbers in the country, it was reported Tuesday.

Troops from the SAS and SBS will be used in the British Army's "decapitation" strategy designed to knock out the insurgent's leadership, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Their deployment was said to be part of an overall surge of troops in the increasingly unstable country, as more British forces are pulled out of Iraq.

The number of British troops in Afghanistan has virtually doubled to more than 8,000 since they were first deployed in the southern province of Helmand two years ago, adding to the overstretch problems suffered by the army fighting on two fronts.

But the Telegraph reported that Britain's forces in Iraq, where special forces still operate, is expected to be reduced from some 4,200 to about 2,000 by the end of the year, with some possibly being sent to Afghanistan.

In addition, the US was said also to be planning early next year to send two extra combat brigades, of some 12,000 personnel, to augment 34,000 troops already in the country, while there are also plans to double the size of the Afghan army to 120,000.

Under the new strategy, NATO-led International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) and the US Operation Enduring Freedom are expected to be merged under the command of US General David McKiernan, with a combined force just under 65,000, the daily said.

"The plans come amid growing unease in Pakistan following the resignation of President Pervez Musharraf," it said, reporting that according to intelligence, the increasing instability in Pakistan could allow insurgents to step up attacks in Afghanistan.

The former Pakistan leader was seen as a key ally of the West in the War on Terror, and Nato was said to have become increasingly worried that Taliban foot soldiers killed or captured are being replaced by "indoctrinated fighters" from madrassas in Pakistan.