100th British soldier killed in Afghanistan this year
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
London, Dec 8, IRNA -- UK military leaders have played down the landmark significance of the 100th British soldier to be killed in Afghanistan so far this year, urging the public not to judge the war by casualties alone.
"The temptation to judge this essential campaign by casualties alone undervalues the tremendous efforts of our forces and our allies, and the progress they are making," head of the British army Gen Sir David Richards said.
Chief of the defence staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, admitted 2009 had been a "particularly challenging year" but said the sacrifices "have brought security to more of the population of Helmand, and have helped the Afghan National Army to develop.”
The military leaders were speaking following the announcement that a British soldier had been shot dead in the Nad-e Ali area of Helmand on Monday, bringing the total number of UK deaths this year to 100, almost double the 51 killed in 2008.
Opinion polls have shown growing opposition to the eight-year old war, with the latest last month suggesting that 71 per cent of Britons want troops withdrawn within a year.
The significance of the deaths is that this year’s number is already higher than the worst annual total suffered during 38-years of deployment in Northern Ireland, when 86 were killed in 1972.
The total number of British fatalities in Afghanistan has reached 237, more than the 179 killed in Iraq and just 18 less than the 255 killed during the 1982 war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands.
The figures also show that British troops have been suffering proportionately higher deaths than their American counterparts in Afghanistan.
This year, the US has suffered 301 losses, three times the UK number, but has 58,000 troops in the country, more than seven times the 9,000 deployed by the UK.
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End News / IRNA / News Code 830549
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