British special forces to play key role in Afghanistan as US pulls out - The Independent

British Special Forces will be asked to play a key role in counter-terrorist operations in Afghanistan under military plans being drawn up by the Pentagonfollowing Donald Trump’s decision to pull US troops out of the country, according to senior defence sources.

While US officials are involved in contentious talks about future power sharing with the Taliban, planners in Washington have been putting together a strategic road-map which will meet the president’s demand for withdrawing the vast bulk of the 14,000 US military personnel currently deployed in Afghanistan.

Other international forces, numbering around 9,000, will pull out along with the Americans over a time-frame of around three years. There would, however, be US air cover provided for Afghan forces and a smaller US-led force focusing on counter-terrorism against Isis and al-Qaeda fighters. The British Army’s SAS and the Royal Navy’s SBS are expected to be part of the mission, say US and Western military officials.

There are currently just over 1,000 British troops in Afghanistan, and a SBS contingent, The Independent understands, is operating in central and eastern Afghanistan.

The UK SF numbers can be enlarged in the future, it is believed, with a current deployment in Syria due to be scaled down with the campaign against Isis drawing to a close. French Special Forces who have, like the British, seen Afghan combat in the past, have also been considered for deployment request in Pentagon plans. But they are engaged against Islamists in the Sahel region, as well as being in Syria, and are unlikely to have capacity to spare.

Trump’s announcement of the Afghan pull out, along with a similar move in Syria, are said to have been major contributing factors to the resignation of James Mattis as Defence Secretary. There have been warnings about the policy from the military, with General John Allen, a former commander of US and Nato forces, stressing that a large-scale drawdown would be serious mistake.- Read More

British special forces expected to step into counter-terrorism vacuum ...