A related bit of info:Britain will reduce the number of its troops in Iraq soon and send more to Afghanistan to fight remnants of the Taliban, a senior military officer said in remarks published on Monday.
The Iraq contingent will decrease in "battalion chunks" following the elections expected at the end of the year, Air Marshal Glenn Torpy said, quoted by The Daily Telegraph newspaper.
By next year, the 1,000-man British force in Afghanistan is likely to be increased considerably as the army, backed by Royal Air Force Harrier jets, move into more dangerous parts of the country to combat the growing heroin trade and to hunt down remaining Taliban.
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The Afghanistan deployment depends on the situation in the Middle East becoming more "manageable", although Torpy expected "a satisfactory conclusion" to the Iraq operation within 18 months.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1398043,00050004.htm