British forces in Afghanistan face more casualties, says Sir Jock Stirrup

[FarCenter]

Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, the Chief of the Defence Staff, said on Friday that troops taking part in the Operation Panther's Claw offensive had faced an "enormous battle" to breakthrough the Taliban defences.

However, he said that they had also inflicted "enormous numbers of casualties" on the enemy in their stronghold in central Helmand province.

It has been very tough, very hard fighting because Helmand is for the Taliban their vital ground. They are very, very unwilling to give it up," he told BBC Radio 4's The World at One.

"This is a tough military campaign, it is far from over, there will hard fighting to come.

"We will continue to lose people to improvised explosive devices and to other means. This - in a very real sense for the people on the ground - is a war and in a war you take casualties."

Air Chief Marshal Stirrup made clear there was no question of reducing the current British force after what was supposed to have been a temporary "surge" for next month's presidential elections.

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