By IRNA
London : British-led troops are being attacked four times a day on average in the southern Afghan province of Helmand, according to the latest official figures.
In a written parliamentary answer published Thursday, Defence Secretary Des Browne revealed that ISAF troops had suffered a total of 1,412 attacks instigated by enemy forces in Helmand during 2007, an average of nearly 120 each month.
The highest number was 151 last December, but Browne refused to specify how many of each were the result of an ambush or improvised explosive devices.
“I am withholding details of these attacks as the information would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness and security of the armed forces,” he told MPs.
The defence secretary also said that he was unable to say how many of the attacks were made against the some 7,700 British troops, who make up the vast bulk of ISAF forces in Helmand
He also cautioned that his figures are derived from a number of sources and “can only be an estimate,” not least because of the difficulties in compiling the statistics in a complex fast-moving multinational operation environment.
In a separate parliamentary reply, Browne also list the number of direct engagements between ISAF forces and insurgents in Helmand, regardless of the instigator, as totalling 2,164 last year, an equivalent to six a day.
The number contrasted with a total 704 or average of less than three per day, in the last eight months of 2006, when UK troops were first sent to the southern Afghan province.
The defence secretary also said he was unable to list the number of suicide attacks against British troops, but listed a total of 142 being carried out throughout Afghanistan in 2007, an average of 12 per month.