US to send troops to help Afghans in Helmand: Report

The United States plans to send hundreds of troops already stationed in Afghanistan to Helmand province to thwart Taliban, the Guardian has learned.

A battalion-strength force, which consists of mostly American army soldiers, is slated to arrive in the volatile province by the end of this month, the paper reported on Monday.

The force, which can have up to 800 troops, will be deployed to the southern province from the current total troops number of 9,800 already in the country.

The new troops will only provide defense assistance to the US and UK forces, who have been unable to drive the militants out of the province since 2001.

US military officials have declined to provide details about the upcoming reinforcement, but said the mission would primarily train the embattled 215th Corps of the Afghan military to boost their performance.

“Our mission remains the same,” said Colonel Michael Lawhorn, a spokesman for the US command in Kabul, “to train, advise, and assist our Afghan counterparts, and not to participate in combat operations.”

The 215th Corps has endured “unusually high operating tempo for long periods of time,” but had its commander replaced over performance and corruption concerns, outgoing US commander General John Campbell told the US Congress last week.

He also said that despite rules of engagement, which prevent US troops from initiating frights with the Taliban, he has “no restrictions on providing force protection” for troops who train Afghans.

According to a Pentagon report released last month, the security situation in Afghanistan deteriorated in the second half of 2015, with Taliban militants staging more attacks and inflicting far more casualties on Afghan forces.

The US and its allies invaded Afghanistan on October 7, 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror.

Despite a previous pledge to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan by the end of his presidency, President Barack Obama has announced plans to keep 5,500 of the troops in the country when he leaves office in 2017.

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