Afghanistan dead named
- ITN
Afghanistan dead named
Two British soldiers killed in Afghanistan over the weekend have been named. Corporal Peter Thorpe and Lance Corporal Jabron Hashmi from the 3rd Para Battlegroup were killed following an incident in Sangin, Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan. Their deaths bring the British death toll in the country to five. Corporal Thorpe, 27, of the Royal Signals, lived in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, and Lance Corporal Hashmi, 24, of the Intelligence Corps, attached to the Royal Signals, was from Birmingham. Meanwhile, extra British troops are expected to be sent to Afghanistan as tensions and Taleban attacks in lawless parts of the country rise. Extra infantry will replace 800 engineers who had finished building a British camp. A Ministry of Defence spokesman said there were no proposals for reinforcements 'planned to be presented to Cabinet' at present and that reports of extra troops being sent were 'all speculation at the moment'. About 3,300 soldiers are now based in the central Asian state, most of them in the troubled southern Helmand province. They are there as part of a three-year Nato taskforce to back up the Afghan government as it tries to stamp its authority on the region. Defence Secretary Des Browne said British troops were in Afghanistan to help the Afghans rebuild their country. He said: 'That means facing down the Taleban who will go to any lengths to oppose progress.' But the past three weeks have seen escalating violence and five British troops have been killed in fighting.
ITN | July 3, 2006
