The British special forces, who left Afghanistan three years ago, are back in southern Helmand province and are working with Afghan security forces to hunt down a Taliban bomb-maker behind roadside blasts in Kabul, The Sun reports.
According to the report, the forces are hunting down the bomb-maker believed to be hiding out in house belonging to Helmand Taliban’s second in command.
This comes after a former senior UK defense commander reportedly told British media last week that the UK had pulled out of Afghanistan too soon, saying they had abandoned local forces before they were ready to cope on their own.
According to The Sun, a special forces source said the Taliban are well-armed and better organized than when UK forces left three years ago.
“The Taliban have an iron grip on Helmand. We rely on electronic intercepts and elements of the Afghan security services who are very good,” he said added that: “In recent operations we have been forced to deploy AC-130 gunships to hit back at the Taliban as we have little else to call on apart from Apache helicopters.”
“The situation here is very challenging. The bad guys have huge influence – all we can do is bounce in and out of the area to capture or kill the targets we are given,” he added.
According to The Sun, almost 600 British troops are on the ground fighting the Taliban in Helmand.
