Two Western soldiers killed in Taliban 'spring offensive'

The Taliban said the attack in Helmand was the start of a spring offensive against Afghan government and Western forces.

The attack, in which 32 Taliban fighters were killed, was a reminder of the scale of the insurgency British troops will face in Helmand. US-led forces at the base had to call for air support to repel the offensive. Five other soldiers, including three Canadians and one American, were wounded.

"The weather is warming and Taliban attacks on coalition and Afghan forces have begun," a Taliban spokesman, Mullah Mohammed Hanif, said by telephone from a secret location.

Over the next few months, 3,300 British troops will deploy in Helmand. Taliban commanders say they have 600 suicide bombers waiting for them.

The base which was attacked yesterday, in Sangin district, is used by US-led forces, and it did not appear that any British troops were there at the time.

More
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article354492.ece