US Marines to join British forces ahead of pull-out from Sangin

The UK will hand over control of Sangin in northern Helmand province to American forces later this year, Defence Secretary Liam Fox said.

Military officials and MPs expressed sadness at the high cost of fighting in the area, where nearly a third of the 312 British deaths in the war have occurred.

The 1,000 UK troops of 40 Commando Battle Group serving in Sangin will soon be reinforced by a US Marines battle group being moved from neighbouring Nimroz province.

The British forces will return home in the autumn after completing their tours, leaving the Americans in charge of patrolling the bomb-riddled district.

The move will leave the UK's military effort concentrated in central Helmand, which covers a relatively small area but is home to a third of the province's population.

Sangin is so dangerous because it contains a patchwork of rival tribes and is a major centre of Afghanistan's illegal opium growing industry.

British forces were first deployed there in 2006 and quickly became embroiled in some of the fiercest fighting the military had faced since the Second World War.

Dr Fox rejected suggestions that UK troops had been defeated in Sangin and said they would leave "proudly and with their heads held high".

"Any attempt by anyone to describe this as a retreat is in my view quite contemptible," he told the Commons.

He also announced that about 300 extra troops from 2nd Battalion the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, who have been waiting on standby in Cyprus, were being sent to central Helmand. They will be replaced in the autumn by part of the UK battle group taking over from 40 Commando.

Dr Fox also announced 189m for new equipment for UK troops training Afghan soldiers and police, including body armour, guns and communications equipment to make isolated patrol bases more secure.

Prime Minister David Cameron told MPs that 2010 was the "key year" for the mission in Afghanistan.

He repeated his desire to see British troops home by 2015, saying: "Do I think that we should be there in a combat role or in significant numbers in five years' time? No, I don't. This is the time to get the job done."

Senior military spokesman Maj Gen Gordon Messenger said sentiment about UK losses in Sangin should not outweigh Nato's "sensible" decision to redeploy military resources.

"I accept that there is an attachment of the British Army and the Royal Marines to Sangin, which is born of spilt blood, a great deal of endeavour and some pretty tough sacrifices that have been made," he said.

"There will always be a bit of Sangin in the bloodstream of the British Army and the Royal Marines."

The father of the 300th British fatality in the war, Marine Richard Hollington, 23, who died from wounds sustained in Sangin, agreed that the handover was an "extremely rational decision".

But Robin Hollington questioned the extent of the UK mission, telling ITV News: "Why did we go in? What was the purpose of 2006? And why has the scope of this operation seemed to creep on many occasions?

"I think the public deserves a much deeper explanation than is currently being given."

Helmand will be divided into three bands after the handover of Sangin.

The UK's Task Force Helmand will control the central area, home to about 388,000 people or 32 per cent of the province's total, and US forces will be in charge of the north and south.