440 more UK troops in Afghanistan ‘to stop another Manchester’

BRITAIN has deployed 440 more troops to Afghanistan amid concerns about a ‘Manchesterstyle’ terror attack plotted from the country.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said he is ‘consistently’ receiving intelligence showing that terrorist groups in Afghanistan have links back to Britain.

He admitted that Islamic State fanatics operating out of the country now pose a ‘real threat’ to the safety of people on British streets.

And he said an enduring threat remains from Al- Qaeda, the terror group behind the 9/11 attacks.

Speaking during a visit to the country, Mr Williamson said: ‘We are consistently seeing terrorist groups operating here in Afghanistan – evidence of them links back not just to the United Kingdom but to the whole of continental Europe.

‘What we see is a real threat posed by these groups to the United Kingdom and we have got to be acting as we are to ensure that we do not see future Manchester-style attacks. This is why we have chosen to act as we have, by increasing the troop numbers here in Afghanistan because we recognise the fact that we are dealing with groups such as IS, such as Al- Qaeda, which wish to do Britain harm.’

There are fears IS jihadists in Afghanistan could attempt terror attacks like the Manchester Arena bombing in May last year, in which Salman Abedi detonated a shrapnel-laden bomb that killed 22 people and wounded 139 after an Ariana Grande pop concert.

The extra 440 British troops will take the total in the country to around 1,100 and their mission is to train local Afghan forces as part of a Nato coalition. British combat troops pulled out of the country in 2014. This year has also seen a spike in civilian deaths, including more than 100 killed by a bomb in an ambulance in Kabul in January.

Over the past two years, IS has established a new foothold in Afghanistan as its ‘caliphate’ has crumbled in Iraq and Syria. Last month, the Afghan ambassador to Britain said some IS fanatics in the country had British passports. Said Jawad said the number of British citizens fighting for the group in Afghanistan had not yet reached the hundreds, but gave no more details. During a three-day trip to Afghanistan, Mr Williamson visited bases and checkpoints in the capital Kabul and in Mazari-Sharif in the north of the country. He also met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

Mr Williamson also used his trip to accuse Russia of acting as a ‘disruptor’ to peace in the war-torn country.

Asked if there was evidence of Moscow meddling in Afghanistan to destabilise the Western coalition and its partnership with the Afghan government, he said: ‘Yes. We’re seeing a much greater interest from Russia in Afghanistan and Afghan affairs. I would describe it as them wanting the Nato mission to fail.’

It is claimed that Russia supplies Iran with arms, knowing they are ending up in the hands of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Russian ministers have also invited the Taliban to Moscow for peace talks, undermining a process supposed to be led by the Afghan government, supported by Western allies.

Armoured vehicles designed to protect UK troops from roadside bombs in Afghanistan suffer regular breakdowns, it has emerged. A fleet of 55 Foxhounds costing £1million each are used in Kabul, but at least one fails each week. Major Andy Brown, of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, said the figure was ‘definitely not something we like’. However, an Army spokesman said the Foxhound ‘has saved countless lives’.

‘Wish to do Britain harm’