British soldiers killed in action to be named; 3 troops died at weekend.THREE British soldiers killed in separate attacks in Afghanistan while taking part in one of the UK military's biggest co-ordinated air operations of modern times were due to be named today, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said. The trio were involved in "deliberate" operations near Gereshk in central Helmand, southern Afghanistan, as part of Operation Panchai Palang - or Panthers Claw - over the weekend. Their deaths took the number of UK service personnel killed in Afghanistan since the start of operations in October 2001 to 174. Next of kin The blood relatives entitled by law to inherit the property of a person who dies without leaving a valid will, although the term is sometimes interpreted to include a relationship existing by reason of marriage. Cross-references Descent and Distribution. have been informed. A soldier from 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment The Mercian Regiment is one of the new large infantry regiments of the British Army. The regiment's formation was announced on 16 December 2004 by Geoff Hoon and General Sir Mike Jackson as part of the restructuring of the infantry - it is formed of three regular battalions, plus was killed by a rocket propelled grenade attack and a soldier from The Light Dragoons The Light Dragoons is a cavalry regiment in the British Army. It was formed in 1992 from the amalgamation of two regiments, becoming the first dragoon regiment in the British Army for over twenty years:
The third soldier, who was killed in a contact explosion while on foot, was a member of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards The Welsh Guards (Welsh Gwarchodlu Cymreig) is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division. Creation in War The Welsh Guards - the battalion commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe, who became the most senior British Army The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with unification of the governments and armed forces of England and Scotland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. officer to be killed since the Falklands War last week. Lt Col Thorneloe was killed in a blast which hit his Viking armoured vehicle near Lashkar Gah in Helmand province on Wednesday. They were all taking part in Operation Panthers Claw, which was launched to drive the Taliban out of strongholds in and around Babaji, north of Lashkar Gah, Helmand. Lieutenant Colonel Nick Richardson, a spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said: "The loss of these soldiers, and colleagues, has come as a huge blow to us all. "But it is the family, friends and loved ones, as well as the men and women who served alongside them, who feel the greatest pain and we offer them our deepest and heartfelt condolences, thoughts and prayers and take consolation from the fact that their deaths are not in vain." Last week, nearly 4,000 newly-arrived US Marines and 650 Afghan troops launched a massive pre-dawn operation in Taliban-controlled areas of Helmand. The operation - named Khanjar, or Strike of the Sword - is aimed at clearing insurgents from the region ahead of Afghanistan's presidential election in August. Senior British officers acknowledge UK forces are stretched in Helmand but say they are not being "bailed out" by the Americans. They point out that the new US troops have moved into more remote parts of Helmand, while the British retain responsibility for the more densely-populated central and eastern areas. COMMENT: PAGE 6 ONE STEP AHEAD OF THE TALIBAN: PAGE 9 |
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