Marines guard Afghan border
Royal Marine commando units have launched an operation on the Pakistan border aimed at preventing al Qaeda and Taliban terrorists from slipping into Afghanistan to disrupt next month's formation of a new transitional government.
The significant deployment, codenamed Operation Buzzard, is already in its third day and involves some 300 British forces conducting patrols in populated and rural areas. The number could go up to 700 if required, it was announced.
Army spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Ben Curry said: "There isn't a quick fix, this is going to be a more sustained operation running into weeks."
The area covered runs south of the mountainous Khost region, down to the largely unpatrolled border with Pakistan.
US and Afghan officials say they have no information about specific threats but there have been reports about possible attacks on Kabul, where 1,051 representatives from across the country will meet in two weeks to replace the transitional government installed by the UN in December.
? Foreign Secretary Jack Straw today warned that the international community expects "action, not just words" from Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf in cracking down on crossborder attacks in Kashmir.
"The United Kingdom stands four-square behind India in its fight against terrorism," he said in New Delhi.
Tension throughout the region was further heightened today when at least 36 people were injured as three bomb blasts rocked Ahmadabad, in Gujarat.
