Erstellt am: 22. 12. 2015 - 13:19 Uhr

Return to Helmand

Reality Check: British troops deployed to Afghan province where they suffered major losses in the past.

AFP/Noor Mohammad

Afghan National Army soldiers in Helmand, where fighting has intensified as the Taliban press an offensive to capture a key district in Helmand, a day after an official warned that the entire southern province was on the brink of collapse.

Afghanistan

Last year Britain ended combat operations in Afghanistan, but British troops have once again been deployed to Helmand province where Afghan forces are battling the Taliban for control of a strategic district.

British officials say the troops are providing advice to the Afghan army and are not deployed in a combat role.

The seizure by the Taliban of key locations in and around the strategically important town of Sangin is a major setback for the Afghani government as well as a symbolic loss for the British, as international security analyst Shashank Joshi explains:

The Importance of Brussels

Ryan Heath, a former spokesman for the European Commission, is now a journalist at Politico Europe and writes the “Brussels Playbook” column on “what’s driving the day in Brussels”.

He explains why he thinks what’s going on in the corridors of EU power is sexy and how he tries to make it a gripping read: