Afghan deaths take death toll above Falklands level
February 10, 2010 - 0:0
Three soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan taking the British death toll above the number killed in the Falklands War.
The deaths brought the total dead since operations began in October 2001 to 256.Two of the unnamed soldiers, from the Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, died on a foot patrol in Helmand province on Sunday night while serving with the 3 Rifles battle group in the town of Sangin.
A third was killed in an explosion in the Nad-e-Ali district of Helmand.
The deaths mean the campaign against the Taliban-led insurgency has taken more lives than the 74-day campaign to regain the Falkland Islands following Argentine invasion in 1982.
The Falklands campaign lasted ten-and-a-half weeks and British forces suffered days of terrible casualties as ships faced air attack from Argentine jets and troops fought to dislodge opponents dug into hillsides.
On June 8 alone, 48 died and more than 150 were wounded when Argentine aircraft attacked ships landing troops at Bluff Cove.
The Afghan campaign has instead seen a steady trickle of dead as Britain wages an eight-year-long counter insurgency campaign.
As the politically-sensitive milestone was passed, Bob Ainsworth, Defense Secretary, said it was now “imperative” for Britain to hold its resolve.