Britain To Increase Military Presence In Afghanistan To Almost 600 Personnel

Britain is preparing to increase its military presence in Afghanistan to almost 600 personnel.

They'll join Resolute Support, the operation to train and mentor Afghan forces which replaced the NATO-led combat mission three years ago.

Maiwand 10 is a joint operation with manoeuvre elements from the Afghan National Army.

US mentors and Afghan forces detect a “significant number” of Improvised Explosive Devices and remove them.

The operation is designed to show the world how Afghan forces have picked up the baton from the ISAF.

But in essence, the fighting is still happening in Marjah – how much has really changed since past missions here?

Western leaders still come to Afghanistan - Mike Pence arrived in Kabul, just before Christmas.

Resolute Support is still supported, Britain continues to send troops, and there have been calls and pledges to provide further assistance in terms of more personnel to help train and mentor.

The British troops are centred around Kabul and the nearby officer training academy.

The next tranche of UK troops come from 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, their first visit to Afghanistan since 2012.

They’ve recently completed training – using simulators in Germany - to help them avoid the dangers Kabul still offers.

The UK has pledged to send an extra 85 personnel to join the mission this year, taking British numbers to nearly 600.

There’s still a thirst for training and support from the Afghans, particularly to try and track and stop suicide bombers - the most recent attack killed more than 40 just before Christmas.

Resolute Support will likely be needed for some time...