10 DEAD.. 150 VOTE WAS IT WORTH IT? Brit troops' high election price.

Byline: CHRIS HUGHES; JAMES LYONS 

JUST 150 locals voted in a flashpoint area of Afghanistan where 10 British troops died in recent bloody fighting.

Hundreds of UK soldiers fought to free up an area in Helmand so that the 25,000-strong electorate would feel safe at the ballot box.

But only 0.6% of eligible voters in Babaji, where the fiercest fighting took place, exercised their democratic right, it has emerged.

It follows the announcement of another British military life lost after a soldier injured in Sangin died in a UK hospital.

The latest death brings to 207 the number of British soldiers who have died in Afghanistan since 2001.

Babaji was one of the main targets during the major offensive Operation Panther's Claw, which launched in late June.

British soldiers fought to free the area of Taliban fighters and secure it so that thousands could go to the polls. But Liberal Democrat defence spokesman Nick Harvey last night said the mission had failed.

He added: "If the turnout is as spectacularly low as is being suggested, then clearly one of the stated objectives has not been met.

"The British Government was too ambitious in claiming what could be achieved in these elections." Defence chiefs angrily hit back at suggestions troops had died in vain.

Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Operations) Air Vice Marshall Andy Pulford, said: "British Forces know exactly what they fought for.

"Low voter turn out or not, that security will be enduring. And upon that security the Afghan government will continue to build a better life for the local people. That was the prize. British Forces know that a better future for all Afghans is worth fighting for."

And British Ambassador to Afghanistan Mark Sedwill insisted: "Panther's Claw, although timed to try to improve security for people for the election, was not specifically about the election."

He added: "The clear phase of that operation only ended a couple of weeks before the election... there is a long road to go until that entire area is fully secure."

Some early poll results yesterday suggested that President Hamid Karzai may be just ahead of rival Abdullah Abdullah.

But it is believed his lead is not enough to avoid second round runoffs in October.

Mr Sedwill praised the Afghan forces for their role in providing security for voters. But he acknowledged it had been a "violent day", with around 400 attacks reported.

He also said turnout was expected to be lower than the last presidential election and he accepted Taliban intimidation had an impact.

Last night the Ministry of Defence confirmed another British soldier has lost his life.

The unnamed soldier, to be identified today, died more than a week after he was wounded in an explosion.

The soldier was hurt while on a foot patrol near Sangin in Helmand on Saturday, August 15.

ANALYSIS

CHRIS HUGHES, Security Correspondent, on the British lives that were lost so that democracy could get a chance to grow

THE election in Helmand Province was never going to be easy.

Operation Panther's Claw cleared a huge area the size of the Isle of Wight which had been teeming with Taliban.

But the fanatics threatened reprisals against voters, scaring many away from the polls.

Some voters got off lightly with merely a finger chopped off - because it was ink-daubed to show they had voted. That anyone at all got out of bed and took the terrifying walk to vote anywhere in Helmand was an act of supreme bravery and pride.

That just 150 voted in Babaji - where a possible 25,000 could have turned out - is a huge pity but hardly a surprise.

A total of 10 British lives were lost. But the polls were open and the results are being counted. It may not be an election as we know it but at least it is a start.