£67m extra to foil Taliban bombs as conflict tops security agenda

Following talks with President Hamid Karzai in Kabul, Mr Cameron identified Afghanistan as his top foreign and national security priority.

Confirmation of extra funding came as the bodies of four soldiers killed in Afghanistan returned to British soil yesterday.

Marine Anthony Hotine, 21, Corporal Terry Webster, 24, Lance Corporal Alan Cochran, 23, and Lance Bombardier Mark Chandler, 32, were flown into RAF Lyneham, Wiltshire.

After a private ceremony at the base for families, their coffins passed through the nearby town of Wootton Bassett.

Mr Cameron said Britain was diverting an additional 200m in aid to help President Karzai build up his army, police and civil service, with the aim of bringing forward the date when Afghanistan was able to handle its own security needs and British troops could withdraw.

In an indication that he wanted to move towards the eventual withdrawal of Britain's 10,000-strong military deployment without delay, Mr Cameron said: "We should all the time be asking 'can we go further, can we go faster?'

"Nobody wants British troops to be in Afghanistan a moment longer than is necessary."

The new money will fund a specialist team to deal with improvised explosive devices (IEDs) for every sub-unit of the British deployment in Helmand province and will also fund new vehicles, including seven Mastiff armoured patrol vehicles.

Speaking alongside Mr Karzai in Kabul, Mr Cameron said the six-month Nato-led military surge needed to be given time to show results but added the public in both the US and Britain "want to see real progress this year".

Mr Cameron's visit came in a bad week for international forces in Afghanistan. Four US troops died when their helicopter was shot down by the Taliban in Afghanistan on Wednesday.

Those deaths and that of a British Nato service member in a homemade bomb attack earlier, took the number of Nato troops killed this month to 29.

Insurgent efforts to undermine a forthcoming US military operation continued with the confirmation of at least 40 deaths when a suicide bomb ripped through a wedding party in southern Afghanistan.

The family that was attacked included a number of police.David Cameron announced 67m in additional funding to counter the

threat of Taliban roadside bombs to British troops in Afghanistan, as he made his first trip to the country as Prime Minister.

Following talks with President Hamid Karzai in Kabul, Mr Cameron identified Afghanistan as his top foreign and national security priority.

Confirmation of extra funding came as the bodies of four soldiers killed in Afghanistan returned to British soil yesterday.

Marine Anthony Hotine, 21, Corporal Terry Webster, 24, Lance Corporal Alan Cochran, 23, and Lance Bombardier Mark Chandler, 32, were flown into RAF Lyneham, Wiltshire.

After a private ceremony at the base for families, their coffins passed through the nearby town of Wootton Bassett.

Mr Cameron said Britain was diverting an additional 200m in aid to help President Karzai build up his army, police and civil service, with the aim of bringing forward the date when Afghanistan was able to handle its own security needs and British troops could withdraw.

In an indication that he wanted to move towards the eventual withdrawal of Britain's 10,000-strong military deployment without delay, Mr Cameron said: "We should all the time be asking 'can we go further, can we go faster?'

"Nobody wants British troops to be in Afghanistan a moment longer than is necessary."

The new money will fund a specialist team to deal with improvised explosive devices (IEDs) for every sub-unit of the British deployment in Helmand province and will also fund new vehicles, including seven Mastiff armoured patrol vehicles.

Speaking alongside Mr Karzai in Kabul, Mr Cameron said the six-month Nato-led military surge needed to be given time to show results but added the public in both the US and Britain "want to see real progress this year".

Mr Cameron's visit came in a bad week for international forces in Afghanistan. Four US troops died when their helicopter was shot down by the Taliban in Afghanistan on Wednesday.

Those deaths and that of a British Nato service member in a homemade bomb attack earlier, took the number of Nato troops killed this month to 29.

Insurgent efforts to undermine a forthcoming US military operation continued with the confirmation of at least 40 deaths when a suicide bomb ripped through a wedding party in southern Afghanistan.

The family that was attacked included a number of police.