British troops prepare for Afghan action

The latest contingent of British troops was in Afghanistan today preparing for possible operations against rogue al Qaida and Taliban factions.

About 100 soldiers from 45 Commando Royal Marines touched down in a C-130 transport plane last night at Bagram Air Base near the capital Kabul under cover of darkness.

An MoD spokesman said: "They came from the ship HMS Ocean which is currently in the Arabian Sea, in the Gulf of Arabia area.

"They are now acclimatising and beginning to train and we anticipate they will be operational by the middle of the month."

He added: "There will now be a steady flow of troops in. There will be troops coming from Britain in the next week or so, building up to a force of 1,700."

The Arbroath-based troops, who are trained in mountain and winter warfare, will form part of a group of 1,700 commandos, Royal Engineers and other personnel in what is Britain's biggest overseas force since the Gulf War.

The force will be Britain's largest deployment since the Gulf War.

Britain is heading the International Security

Assistance Force in Afghanistan but the peacekeepers are confined to the capital.

The Royal Marines will now join the US-led coalition hunting pockets of dissident al Qaida and Taliban fighters holed up in caves and mountainous terrain.

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