THREE soldiers were killed in a suicide attack in southern Afghanistan yesterday, taking the number of British military personnel killed in the country to 100.
The men, from 2nd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, were on a routine foot patrol through a series of Afghan villages in the troubled Helmand Province and were less than a mile from their base.
A suicide bomber approached a group of four soldiers as they patrolled an area of the Upper Sangin Valley and detonated a bomb strapped to his chest.
One of the four was pronounced dead at the scene after a medical emergency team was dispatched in a Chinook helicopter.
The rest were rushed to the Camp Bastion military base for treatment. There, despite doctors' efforts, another two died of their wounds. The trio are not expected to be named until tonight.
The fourth soldier is expected to make a good recovery, the Ministry of Defence said last night.
The deaths bring the total of troops killed in Afghanistan to 100 since operations began there in 2001. It was also the biggest single loss of life by British forces in Afghanistan since August last year, when three soldiers from 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment were killed when a US fighter aircraft dropped a bomb on them as they battled insurgents.
Last night, the sad milestone was marked by Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, who paid tribute to the "brave and professional servicemen" who had given their lives.
He said: "One hundred brave and professional servicemen have now died in Afghanistan.
"They laid their lives down for their country and their comrades.
"Every one of those deaths is a tragedy. Nothing can ever compensate for the loss felt by their loved ones, and to them all I extend my deepest sympathies."
Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith, commander of Task Force Helmand, said the 100th death was an "unwanted milestone" and a "tragic reminder of the human price" British forces are paying.
But he went on: "We need to set it in the perspective of what we are seeking to achieve here.
"We want to leave Afghanistan for the Afghans in a country that is better governed, more secure, more peaceful and, crucially, no longer a threat to the international community."
Referring to the British death toll, he added: "Each one of those lives is individually tragic and of incalculable loss to the families that are left behind."
Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, said his thoughts were with the loved ones of the 100 "courageous" personnel and expressed his sympathy for the relatives of the latest casualties.
In a tribute to all the British casualties, he added: "They gave their lives securing freedom and stability, not just for the people of Afghanistan but, as the tragic events of 9/11 showed, for all of us. We will never forget them."
Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, said: "While the pain of the families and friends of the 100 brave servicemen and women who have lost their lives in Afghanistan must be unbearable to endure, I have no doubt that the cause for which they died is a just one."
Of the 100 killed in Afghanistan, 74 have died as a result of enemy attack. The remaining deaths were due to illness and non-combat injuries.
In all, 1,500 people have died in the fighting in Afghanistan so far this year.
The youngest British victim was Private Ben Ford, 18, from Chesterfield, Derbyshire, and the oldest was father-of-five Senior Aircraftsman Gary Thompson, 51, from Nottingham.
Warning that conflict could last 'many years longer'BRITAIN'S 100th military casualty in Afghanistan comes as analysts suggest the tide may be turning in the fight against the Taleban.
The poignant landmark revived calls for British troops to be pulled out of the troubled country, but one defence expert predicted they could remain there for many more years.
Dr Paul Cornish, head of Chatham House's international security programme, said the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force appeared to be achieving "incremental success".
"It seems to me that the big ideas to do with counter-insurgency and so on are bedding in pretty well," he said. "The lessons have been learnt, even if people might say it took too long. People now realise it is going to take a very long time."
It is now more than six years since the hard-line Taleban regime was overthrown by a coalition of Nato countries and the Afghan Northern Alliance.
UK forces were first officially deployed to Afghanistan in November 2001, when Royal Marines helped secure Bagram Air Field as part of the US-led invasion following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Dr Cornish cautioned against reading too much into the landmark figure.
He said: "The 100th casualty is no more important than the 90th or the 105th – they are all personal tragedies.
We have been there now for a very long time, and we might well be there for many years longer. This has been enormously tough fighting."
Dr Cornish said how long Britain had to remain in Afghanistan would depend on the success of the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police.
He said he was "cautiously optimistic" about Afghanistan's prospects, adding: "Maybe we are now at the point where we begin to turn the corner."
The Stop the War Coalition strongly disputes this, describing the conflict as a "war without purpose" to support US President George Bush's foreign policy. Spokesman Chris Nineham said the effect of the war on British troops and their families had been "catastrophic" and "completely unnecessary".
He added: "Afghanistan is becoming a disaster all too reminiscent of Iraq.
"It is quite clear that the Nato forces are bogged down, deeply unpopular, facing more and more resistance and causing mayhem rather than bringing democracy.
"We want the troops to be withdrawn because I do not think there is any possibility of progress in Afghanistan while it is occupied by foreign forces."
TIMELINE9 April, 2002: Private Darren George, from the Royal Anglian Regiment, is the first soldier to be killed in Afghanistan.
2 September, 2006: 14 British servicemen die when their Nimrod MR2 aircraft explodes after mid-air refuelling near Kandahar in the south of the country.
14 December, 2007: Prince Harry flies out to Afghanistan and was operates out of a forward base in Helmand Province. He returned in February after a media black-out on his role was broken.
8 June, 2008: Three soldiers from 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment are killed by a suicide bomber while on patrol in the Helmand Province.
The full article contains 1114 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
