Australia election campaign begins

5 August 2013 Last updated at 00:09 ET

Australia's political parties have swung into campaign mode, a day after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called an election for 7 September.

On Monday Mr Rudd's Labor party announced an A$200m ($177m; £116m) package to assist the car industry.

Conservative opposition leader Tony Abbott, meanwhile, pledged to repeal Australia's carbon tax at his first campaign event in Brisbane.

Polls currently put the opposition Coalition ahead of Labor by 52-48.

The economy is expected to be a key issue in the election, along with asylum and climate change.

"I'm a believer in manufacturing's future," Mr Rudd told Australian broadcaster ABC, after the funding package for the car industry was announced.

"On a case-by-case basis, industry-sector-by-industry-sector, the government will provide support where necessary," he said.

Mr Rudd's cabinet is meeting in Canberra for what is expected to be its last meeting before the government enters into caretaker mode.

'Political chaos'

Mr Abbott began his campaign in Brisbane with a press conference followed by a tour of a meat-processing factory.

He reiterated the opposition's pledge to scrap Australia's carbon tax. "If the Coalition is elected our first legislative priority will be to scrap the carbon tax," he said.

He also promised a vigorous election campaign.

"I want a people's campaign," he said. "It is the people's choice and what I'll be doing over the next five weeks is travelling the length and breadth of Australia listening to people and explaining to them our strong positive plan."

The opposition remains the favourite to win the election, although opinion polls show that the Labor Party has significantly narrowed its lead since Mr Rudd ousted his predecessor, Julia Gillard, in June.

In one of the first opinion polls since the election was announced, a Newspoll published in The Australian newspaper suggested that the Coalition led Labor 52-48 on a two-party preferred basis, although more voters believed that Mr Rudd would make a better prime minister.

Meanwhile, Australia's Daily Telegraph newspaper sparked controversy after its front page headline told voters to Kick This Mob Out, criticising the Labor party for causing "political chaos and economic decline".

The paper, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, had supported Mr Rudd in the 2007 election.

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Boston bomber 'had far-right papers'

5 August 2013 Last updated at 00:21 ET By Hilary Andersson BBC News, Washington

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What was behind Boston bombing? Hilary Andersson reports

One of the brothers suspected of carrying out the Boston bombings was in possession of right-wing American literature in the run-up to the attack, BBC Panorama has learnt.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev subscribed to publications espousing white supremacy and government conspiracy theories.

He also had reading material on mass killings.

Until now the Tsarnaev brothers were widely perceived as just self-styled radical jihadists.

Panorama has spent months speaking exclusively with friends of the bombers to try to understand the roots of their radicalisation.

'Government conspiracies'

The programme discovered that Tamerlan Tsarnaev possessed articles which argued that both 9/11 and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing were government conspiracies.

Another in his possession was about "the rape of our gun rights".

Reading material he had about white supremacy commented that "Hitler had a point".

Tamerlan Tsarnaev also had literature which explored what motivated mass killings and noted how the perpetrators murdered and maimed calmly.

There was also material about US drones killing civilians, and about the plight of those still imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay.

'A Muslim of convenience'

The Tsarnaev brothers, ethnic Chechens, spent their early years moving around a troubled region of Russia torn by a violent Islamic insurgency.

But for the last decade they lived in Cambridge, near Boston.

The brothers' friends told us Tamerlan turned against the country and became passionate about Islam after becoming frustrated when his boxing career faltered because he did not have American citizenship.

Their friends wouldn't all speak openly because they were afraid of being wrongly viewed as associated with terrorism.

'Mike' spent a lot of time in the brothers' flat.

"He (Tamerlan) just didn't like America. He felt like America was just basically attacking all Middle Eastern countries…you know trying to take their oil."

Continue reading the main story

He (Tamerlan) just didn't like America. He felt like America was just basically attacking all Middle Eastern countries."

End Quote 'Mike' Former friend

A spokesperson for Tamerlan's mosque in Cambridge, Nicole Mossalam, said Tamerlan only prayed there occasionally. She portrayed him as an angry young man who latched onto Islam.

"As far connecting with the Islamic community here, to actually praying, being involved, doing acts of charity….all of those were pretty much lacking.

"I would say he was just a Muslim of convenience," she said.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Tamerlan's younger brother who has been charged with the bombings, scrawled a note shortly before his capture stating "We Muslims are one body. You hurt one you hurt us all."

The brothers had been reading militant Islamic websites before the bombings.

Friends say the younger brother smoked copious amounts of pot and rarely prayed.

'Tito' told us Dzhokhar's older brother dominated him and didn't approve of his "party lifestyle".

"He (Dzhokhar) was intimidated, that would probably be the best word. He took him very seriously. He was an authority."

Radicalised by family?

The FBI has been investigating the brothers, and possible connections Tamerlan might have had in the troubled Russian republic of Dagestan which he visited last year.

The House Intelligence Committee in Washington is being briefed on his connections.

The committee chairman, Mike Rogers said he believes the brothers' mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaev, was involved in his radicalisation.

"He had family members encouraging, we know that for sure," he said.

Zubeidat denies the allegations.

Tamerlan was killed in April following a gun fight with police which ended when his younger brother ran him over while trying to escape.

Dzhokhar, recently brought to court, denied all charges.

If convicted he faces life imprisonment or the death penalty.

You can watch Panorama - The Brothers who Bombed Boston on Monday 5 August at 20:30 BST on BBC One and then on the BBC iPlayer in the UK.

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US extends closure of embassies

5 August 2013 Last updated at 06:26 ET

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US senators have been talking about the severity of the threat to US embassies, as the BBC's David Willis reports

The US says it will keep a number of embassies in north Africa and the Middle East closed until Saturday, due to a possible militant threat.

Twenty-one US embassies and consulates closed on Sunday.

The state department in Washington said the extended closures were "out of an abundance of caution", and not a reaction to a new threat.

The UK said its embassy in Yemen would stay closed until the Muslim festival of Eid on Thursday.

The decision to close the embassies comes as the US government battles to defend recently disclosed surveillance programmes that have stirred deep privacy concerns.

Security at US diplomatic facilities also remains a concern following last year's attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, where the US ambassador and three other Americans were killed.

While details of the threats are unspecified, the BBC's David Willis, in Washington, says members of Congress who have been briefed about the intelligence seem to agree it amounts to one of the most serious in recent years - all pointing to the possibility of a major attack, possibly to coincide with the end of the holy month of Ramadan, which ends this week.

Al-Qaeda

A state department global travel alert, issued on Friday, is in force until the end of August.

Continue reading the main story

Western governments are taking seriously the perceived threat from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), because the group has an established track record of highly innovative bomb plots. The bulk of its members are Yemeni militants with a local, Yemeni agenda, but the group has also attracted experienced al-Qaeda operatives from Saudi Arabia with more regional and international ambitions.

These include the elusive Saudi bomb-maker Ibrahim al-Asiri, who sent his brother to blow up a prince with a bomb concealed on, or possibly even inside, his body. Further plots from Yemen have followed, all thwarted, including the Nigerian Omar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who tried to detonate a bomb in his underpants on a flight to Detroit in 2009.

AQAP's leaders have been intensively targeted by US drone strikes in recent years, but by hiding out in remote tribal areas, they have managed to remain largely beyond the reach of the authorities and to continue to plot attacks.

The department said the potential for an al-Qaeda-inspired attack was particularly strong in the Middle East and North Africa.

Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), has tried to carry out several high-profile attacks in recent years, including one on Christmas Day in 2009 when a man attempted to blow up a trans-Atlantic jet over Detroit, using explosives sewn into his underwear.

Months earlier, the group tried to kill the Saudi intelligence chief with a bomb on the attacker's body.

The UK Foreign Office had earlier announced it would shut its mission in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, until Tuesday.

Meanwhile, US diplomatic missions in Algiers, Kabul and Baghdad are among those which will reopen on Monday, Washington said.

But its diplomatic posts in Abu Dhabi, Amman, Cairo, Riyadh, Dhahran, Jeddah, Doha, Dubai, Kuwait, Manama, Muscat, Sanaa and Tripoli will remain closed until Saturday.

The US state department also added African missions in Antananarivo, Bujumbura, Djibouti, Khartoum, Kigali and Port Louis to the list, meaning a total of 19 US embassies will remain closed this week.

Embassies closed on Sunday, a working day in the Muslim world, included Amman, Cairo, Riyadh and Dhaka.

US citizens are advised that all consular appointments have been cancelled and will be rescheduled.

The US embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel, which is normally closed to the public on Sunday, said all its facilities would be shut on Sunday and asked "workers not essential for the building's security" not to come in.

The two consulates in Jerusalem and Haifa were also closed on Sunday.

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Senator Chambliss: "We didn't take heed on 9/11... But we're paying very close attention to the chatter"

The embassy closures and US global travel alert came after the US reportedly intercepted al-Qaeda messages.

It has been suggested that they were between senior figures talking about a plot against an embassy.

'Serious threat'

US lawmakers appearing on Sunday morning shows talked about the threat, saying it was the biggest chatter since 9/11.

"This is the most serious threat that I've seen in the last several years," Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss said on NBC.

"Chatter means conversation among terrorists about the planning that's going on - very reminiscent of what we saw pre-9/11."

Referring to the Middle East, the state department said: "Current information suggests that al-Qaeda and affiliated organisations continue to plan terrorist attacks both in the region and beyond, and that they may focus efforts to conduct attacks in the period between now and the end of August."

The travel alert called for US citizens to be vigilant, warning of "the potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure".

Several European countries have also temporarily shut missions in Yemen.

On its website, the UK Foreign Office is advising against all travel to Yemen and is strongly urging British nationals to leave.

It says there is "a high threat from terrorism throughout Yemen" and "a very high threat of kidnap from armed tribes, criminals and terrorists".

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Turkey court clears 21 over 'coup'

5 August 2013 Last updated at 06:58 ET

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Former army chief Ilker Basbug is one of the defendants in the trial

A court in Turkey has acquitted 21 people accused of plotting to overthrow the Islamist-rooted government.

Prison sentences of up to 47 years have been handed out to some of the other 254 defendants.

Verdicts are being read out one-by-one for those accused in the five-year "Ergenekon" trial.

Among those on trial is a former head of the armed forces, Gen Ilker Basbug, as well as other military officers, lawyers, academics and journalists.

Gen Basbug, who led the military between 2008 and 2010, has rejected all the charges against him. It is not clear what the verdict is against him.

The plot allegedly aimed to topple the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government.

Continue reading the main story

For some this trial is an important step in bringing the army, which used to see itself above the law, under civilian control. However, others think that the case has been turned into a witch hunt by the government to suppress its opponents.

There are yet others, who think some of the defendants may have been involved in the mass violations of the early 1990s but there has not been progress in investigating the link between suspects and past human rights violations.

Human rights groups say serious fair trial concerns and the prolonged pre-trial detention of some defendants have overshadowed the efforts to combat impunity of the military.

Lengthy prison sentences were expected for many of the defendants. In a separate case when hundreds of military officers were convicted last year, three former generals were given 20 year sentences for plotting to bring down the government.

The defendants face dozens of charges, ranging from membership of Ergenekon - an alleged underground terrorist organisation - to illegally possessing weapons and instigating an armed uprising against the AKP.

Prosecutors have demanded life imprisonment for Gen Basbug and 63 others, including nine other generals.

The court is sitting in a specially constructed courtroom at the high-security Silivri prison complex, west of Istanbul, where the general is being held.

The case is being seen as a key test in Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's showdown with secularist and military opponents.

Since Mr Erdogan came to power in 2002, hundreds of military officers - serving or retired - have been arrested.

Critics say there is little evidence for the charges and accuse the government of trying to silence its secularist opponents. Critics have complained that the Ergenekon investigation has focused on opponents of the AKP, which has Islamist roots. The government denies any such motives.

Turkey's military has long seen itself as the guarantor of the country's secular constitution.

It staged three coups between 1960 and 1980 and has a history of tension with the AKP.

The AKP is considered a successor to the Welfare Party, an Islamist party which led a 1996-97 government forced to resign by an army-led campaign.

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Recall over NZ dairy botulism fears

3 August 2013 Last updated at 03:21 ET

New Zealand's main dairy exporter, Fonterra, has found a strain of bacteria causing botulism in some of its products, including infant formula and sports drinks.

It has led to a global recall of up to 1,000 tons of dairy products across seven countries, including China.

Fonterra has not named the eight companies affected.

Botulism is one of the most dangerous forms of food poisoning, often leading to paralysis.

New Zealand's Ministry of Primary Industries confirmed on Saturday that the tainted products included infant formula, sports drinks, protein drinks and other beverages.

The bacteria was found in three batches of Fonterra's whey protein used in infants' Nutricia Karicare follow-on formula, Fonterra said.

Product lock down

The whey product was produced in May 2012, with a dirty pipe at one of its processing plants in Waikato responsible for the contamination, the company said.

Nutricia has locked down all five batches of formula believed to contain the tainted product and says none of its product was actually sold.

Fonterra - the fourth largest diary company in the world - says it has urged its customers to urgently check their supply chains.

"We are acting quickly," Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings said.

"Our focus is to get information out about potentially affected product as fast as possible so that it can be taken off supermarket shelves and, where it has already been purchased, can be returned."

The countries affected beside New Zealand include China, Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Saudi Arabia.

Fonterra said there had been no reports of any illness linked to the affected whey product.

The dairy industry powers New Zealand's economy, with the country exporting up to 95% of its milk.

Fonterra is a major supplier of bulk milk powder products used in milk formula in China.

Chinese consumers have a special interest after a tainted milk formula scandal in 2008 killed six babies and made some 300,000 infants sick.

The Chinese authorities have already ordered domestic importers to recall all milk products that could be affected.

Fonterra's chief executive, Theo Spierings, plans to fly to China on Saturday to deal with the fall-out.

Botulism is a rare paralytic illness caused by a toxin which is very poisonous to humans.

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Rouhani to become Iran president

2 August 2013 Last updated at 21:10 ET

Hassan Rouhani is set to officially replace Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president of Iran.

Mr Rouhani's election will be endorsed by the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at a ceremony in the capital, Tehran.

The cleric, who won the presidential poll in June, has promised reform and to end Iran's international isolation.

While his term officially starts on Saturday, his public inauguration will take place on Sunday.

The 64-year-old is a former nuclear negotiator for Iran and was an Islamic activist before the country's 1979 Revolution.

Final say

He has the support of Iran's reform movement, which wants the new president to enact real change - including the release of political prisoners and the lifting of international sanctions that have hurt the country's economy.

But while he may be taking over as president, he will not be Iran's main decision-maker, says the BBC's Iran correspondent James Reynolds in London.

In the Islamic Republic, it is the Supreme Leader - not the president - who has the final say, our correspondent adds.

The day before he took office, Mr Rouhani said Israeli occupation was an "old wound on the body of the Islamic world", as his country marked its annual Jerusalem (Quds) Day.

His remarks echo those of other Iranian leaders on the day dedicated to supporting the Palestinians and denouncing Israel.

Iran has denied Israel's right to exist since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

In his last interview before stepping aside on Friday, Mr Ahmadinejad also attacked Israel, warning of "storm brewing" in the region that would uproot Zionism, according to AFP news agency.

Many Iranians believe Mr Ahmadinejad, elected twice in controversial elections, has put Iran on the path to economic ruin and confrontation with the outside world.

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US issues worldwide travel alert

3 August 2013 Last updated at 02:44 ET

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The US alert said the risk was particularly great in the Middle East and North Africa

The US state department has issued a global travel alert because of fears of an unspecified al-Qaeda attack.

The department said the potential for an attack was particularly strong in the Middle East and North Africa.

The US intercepted electronic communications between senior al-Qaeda figures, according to officials quoted by the New York Times.

The alert comes shortly after the US announced nearly two dozen embassies and consulates would be shut on Sunday.

The US state department said the alert expires on 31 August 2013 and it recommended US citizens travelling abroad be vigilant.

"Current information suggests that al-Qaeda and affiliated organisations continue to plan terrorist attacks both in the region and beyond, and that they may focus efforts to conduct attacks in the period between now and the end of August," the statement said.

The alert warned of "the potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure".

In its report, the New York Times says high-level intercepts were collected and analysed this week and that the CIA, state department and White House immediately recognised their significance.

Meanwhile, the UK Foreign Office has confirmed that the British embassy in Yemen is to be closed on Sunday and Monday as "a precautionary measure".

'Not chit chat'

Continue reading the main story

It's not unusual for the state department to issue travel warnings, ranging from a caution to an alert. But this one is both wide-ranging and somewhat specific, as it comes after the announcement that 21 US embassies and consulates will be closed in the Middle East and North Africa.

The alert is based on intelligence that goes beyond the usual chatter, according to lawmakers, but the state department is also acting out of an abundance of caution.

Last year, the US issued a worldwide warning about potential violence ahead of the anniversary of 11 September 2001 attacks. Violent protests against an anti-Muslim video also erupted in Cairo and Tunis. Then, in Benghazi, on 11 September, the US ambassador to Libya was killed in an attack. In the aftermath, US officials said there was no "actionable" intelligence about an impending attack.

US President Barack Obama has ordered that "all appropriate steps" be taken to protect Americans in response to a threat of an al-Qaeda attack, AFP news agency quoted a White House official as saying.

"The president is being updated on a potential threat occurring in or emanating from the Arabian Peninsula," the official added.

Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader in the House of Representatives, said that congressional leaders had been briefed about the alert.

"There is some understanding of the seriousness of the threat," she told reporters.

Republican lawmaker Jason Chaffetz said he understood there was "a very real worldwide threat".

Dutch Ruppersberger, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, said the threat was not prompted by "the regular chit chat" gleaned from would-be militants online or elsewhere.

"The most important thing we have to do is protect American lives," he told the Associated Press news agency.

'Abundance of caution'

An unnamed senior US official told NBC the threat may be related to the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which ends next week.

In the Muslim world, Sunday is a work day. In other parts of the world US diplomatic offices are shut on Sunday.

"It is possible we may have additional days of closing as well," a senior state department official told the BBC on Thursday.

The official said the state department had "been apprised of information" leading it to take these "precautionary steps... out of an abundance of caution".

Last year on 11 September, the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, was attacked, leaving four Americans dead.

Other embassies are routinely targets of protesters.

The US diplomatic missions to be closed on Sunday are in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Algiers, Algeria; Amman, Jordan; Baghdad, Iraq; Cairo, Egypt; Dhahran, Saudi Arabia; Djibouti, Djibouti; Dhaka, Bangladesh; Doha, Qatar; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Irbil, Iraq; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Kabul, Afghanistan; Khartoum, Sudan; Kuwait City, Kuwait; Manama, Bahrain; Muscat, Oman; Nouakchott, Mauritania; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Sanaa, Yemen and Tripoli, Libya.

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Afghan attack targets Indian mission

3 August 2013 Last updated at 06:01 ET

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Jalalabad has seen frequent attacks in the past, as Karen Allen reports

Suicide bombers have targeted the Indian consulate in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, killing at least nine civilians.

Three bombers drove up in a car before detonating their explosives, police said.

Gunfire was heard for an hour after the blast which took place at 10:00 local time (06:30 GMT).

Most of the victims were from a nearby mosque. Indian officials say none of their citizens were hurt.

At least 23 people, among them children, were injured in the Jalalabad attack, according to the police.

Deputy police chief of Nangarhar province Masum Khan Hashimi said the blast, close to a mosque, had been a failed attempt to attack the Indian consulate.

He said two of the attackers wearing vests laden with explosives got out of the car and were immediately fired upon by police.

Continue reading the main story

Our fighters have not carried out any attack in Jalalabad"

End Quote Taliban spokesman

The remaining occupant of the car then blew it up, he told Reuters news agency.

A large crater was visible in the road after the explosion, which heavily damaged houses and local shops.

It is not clear who was behind the attack. Jalalabad has frequently been the target of militant attacks, including a bomb blast at the airport last year.

In May, offices of the International Committee of the Red Cross were hit, killing an Afghan guard, and in March several police died in a suicide attack on a police station in the city.

However, a Taliban spokesman denied responsibility for Saturday's attack.

"Our fighters have not carried out any attack in Jalalabad," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP news agency.

Indian buildings in Afghanistan have been targeted before.

In 2008 and 2009, the Indian embassy in Kabul was attacked twice with dozens of people killed.

The attack came after officials on Friday reported fierce fighting between security forces and militants in the Shirzad district of Nangarhar province.

They said 76 Taliban members and 22 police were killed in a series of clashes.

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Spain train driver to be questioned

27 July 2013 Last updated at 23:10 ET

The driver of a train that crashed near the Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela on Wednesday killing 78 people is due to appear before a judge.

Francisco Jose Garzon Amo has been detained on suspicion of reckless homicide and the judge will decide whether to press formal charges.

Mr Garzon is suspected of driving too fast on a bend.

Reports say the train was travelling at more than double the speed limit at the time of the crash.

Mr Garzon, 52, was pictured being escorted away from the wreckage by police, blood pouring from a head injury. He left hospital on Saturday and was immediately taken to the central police station in Santiago.

He has so far refused to make a statement or answer questions.

Sunday's court hearing will be closed but the judge will decide whether to remand the driver as an official suspect, release him on bail, or free him without charge.

If the judge finds enough evidence for a criminal trial, Mr Garzon will be charged and a date set.

At least 130 people were taken to hospital after the accident and 30 remained in a critical condition on Saturday.

All eight carriages of the train - packed with more than 200 passengers - careered off the tracks into a concrete wall as they sped around the curve on the express route between Madrid and the port city of Ferrol on the Galician coast.

Leaking diesel burst into flames in some of the carriages.

The train's data recording "black box" is with the judge in charge of the investigation. Officials have so far not said how fast the train was going when it derailed.

Continue reading the main story

• August 2006: Inter-city train derails in Villada, in the province of Palencia, killing six people and injuring dozens more
• July 2006: At least 43 people killed in a metro train crash in the Valencia area
• 1972: Andalusia crash leaves between 76 and 86 people dead.
• 1944: Hundreds believed dead after a crash in Torre del Bierzo, in Leon province - official account gave the figure as 78 killed.

Gonzalo Ferre, president of Spanish rail network administrator Adif, said the driver should have started slowing the train 4km (2.5 miles) before the spot where the accident happened.

The president of Spanish train operator Renfe, Julio Gomez Pomar, has said that the train had no technical problems.

He said the driver had 30 years' experience with the company and had been operating trains on the line for more than a year.

People from several nationalities were among the injured, including five US citizens and one Briton. One American was among the dead.

Some victims have had to be identified using DNA matches due to the extent of their injuries.

PM Mariano Rajoy, who hails from the city of the crash, declared three days of official mourning on Thursday.

The crash was one of the worst rail disasters in Spanish history.

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UK soldiers assist Afghan operation

28 July 2013 Last updated at 00:09 ET

British soldiers have returned to an area of Afghanistan for a week-long operation to clear Taliban insurgents.

Afghan military commanders requested assistance in Sangin district, an area British forces defended from the Taliban until 2010, earlier this month.

About 80 members of 4th Battalion The Rifles, based at Camp Bastion in Helmand province, were involved.

The Ministry of Defence said some insurgents were killed or captured but there were no British casualties.

Weapons seized

According to the Sunday Times, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond had personally authorised the return to the area for British forces.

It said 106 British personnel were killed in fighting there between 2006 and 2010.

The paper said the threat to the troops was considered so great that, at the MoD's request, it delayed reporting the operation until it had finished.

The British involvement was part of a major operation by 215 Corps of the Afghan National Army (ANA) to clear insurgents in the Sangin district of Helmand Province, in the south.

The operation saw troops from the UK-mentored 3/215 Brigade move north into Sangin, clearing compounds and seizing insurgent weapon stashes alongside soldiers from 2/215 Brigade.

The Brigade Advisory Group, made up of 4th Battalion The Rifles, provided support to 3/215 Brigade.

During the operation, more than 30 improvised explosive devices were found and destroyed by the ANA, and two insurgent vehicles were seized along with ammunition and weapons.

'Challenging area'

The Ministry of Defence said UK personnel occasionally operated outside of the usual British area of operations in central Helmand in an advisory capacity.

"These out-of-area operations have been a long-standing element of the UK mission in Afghanistan and are completely in line with our current role of providing training, advice and assistance to the Afghan National Security Forces," a spokesman said.

"Between 2006 and 2010, UK forces provided vital security for the population of Sangin, disrupting the insurgency in an area the Taliban had considered its heartland, preventing the spread of violence elsewhere, upholding the authority of the Afghan government in the area and enabling economic development to take place.

"Much was achieved then and has been since. It remains a challenging area and it is now for the Afghan forces to deal with the residual insurgency."

Brig Rupert Jones, Commander Task Force Helmand, said the operation had demonstrated further how effective 3/215 Brigade of the ANA had become.

"Operating in Sangin over the past week, they have moved to another level of performance and independence," he said.

"It has been a very impressive demonstration of what the Afghan National Army can be capable of."

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