BRITISH Prime Minister David Cameron has backed up a pledge to pull more troops out of Afghanistan next year, during a previously unannounced trip to a restive province on Wednesday.Britain's contingent is second in size only to US troop strength among Western forces in Afghanistan. Britain plans to pull 500 troops out by December but has not given a timetable for others to leave. NATO plans to turn over security responsibility to Afghan forces by the end of 2014.
Cameron was holding talks with British and Afghan officials in the southern province of Helmand, where Britain has around 9500 troops.
| Good for him to go and check out the situation. |
Officials have cautioned against public hopes of a major drawdown next year. Britain is expected to confirm its strategy only after a planned meeting in October of Britain's National Security Council, which includes ministers, military commanders and spy chiefs.
"I don't want to raise false hopes. There will be a modest reduction this year, there will be further reductions next year," he told reporters at Camp Bastion, a vast British base in Helmand.
Cameron said he was "encouraged" by progress in Helmand, particularly after visiting troops at Forward Operating Base Shawqat in Nad Ali, which borders a bustling bazaar that didn't exist on his last visit two years ago because of fierce fighting.
President Barack Obama has already confirmed that around 23,000 of the 90,000 American troops in Afghanistan will withdraw by September - including from Helmand, which analysts say could put further strain on British forces.
"The immediate challenge is going to be that the Americans are pulling a large number of forces out of Helmand this year, leaving it very vulnerable to attack," said Malcolm Chalmers of London's military think tank, the Royal United Services Institute.
Britain has signalled it does not plan to expand its area of operations from the province's centre, meaning the Taliban could seek to recapture parts of northern Helmand, previously the scene of intense combat.
Violence raged in Helmand just ahead of Cameron's visit there. The provincial governor's office said nine Afghan soldiers were killed on Tuesday night when militants attacked an Afghan National Army checkpoint in the Washer district. Seven insurgents were killed in the attack, the governor's office said.
Insurgents also clashed on Tuesday night with Afghan police in Nad Ali district. An insurgent commander was killed and six other militants were captured during the battle, the governor's office said.
The British leader's visit comes after three British soldiers were killed on July 1 by an Afghan policeman as they attended a meeting of local officials. A total of 26 foreign troops have been killed so far this year in killings involving Afghan security forces attacking NATO allies.
Cameron met with British troops after his defence secretary, Philip Hammond, acknowledged morale within the military was "fragile" because of budget restraint and cuts to units.