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British military deployed to Afghanistan to help fight Taliban

Xinhua, December 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

British military personnel have been deployed to Afghanistan to help local forces as they fought to take control of a key town seized by Taliban, local media reported Tuesday.

Britain's Ministry of Defense (MoD) said a small number of British personnel have been deployed to Camp Shorabak in Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan "in an advisory role."

"These personnel are part of a larger NATO team which is providing advice to the Afghan National Army. They are not deployed in a combat role and will not deploy outside the camp," an MoD spokesperson said in a statement.

"In total the UK has around 450 troops in Afghanistan mentoring and supporting the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces and the Afghan Security Ministries," the statement added.

The strategically important town of Sangin is believed to be almost completely under Taliban control, British Sky News reported Tuesday.

Britain had a military presence in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014, when British troops were deployed as part of the NATO response to the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States.

More than 450 British military personnel or MoD civilians have been killed in Afghanistan since 2001.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force completed their combat mission in Afghanistan by the end of 2014, after 13 years of military presence in the country. Enditem