UK troops push faster than planned against Taliban

KABUL, June 18 (Reuters) British forces have pushed deeper and faster than expected into lawless territory in southern Afghanistan, setting up outposts in towns that have seen no security presence for decades, their commander said today.

Brigadier Ed Butler, commander of the British contingent in Afghanistan, told reporters his troops were two months ahead of schedule moving into the remote mountains in Helmand province.

The plan was to move into those towns in August, but his forces had already advanced, setting up five remote ''platoon houses'' manned by between 12 and 60 paratroops, as well as bases for larger units.

''We've done far more than we thought we'd do, we've challenged insecurity in far more places,'' Butler said.

''This is a tactical success which we've exploited. A couple of months ago, northern Helmand looked really threatening. It looks less threatening now.'' Butler said British forces had killed 20-30 Taliban guerrillas in the past few months in a series of operations that included air strikes from their Apache attack helicopters.

REMOTE HIGHLANDS Thousands of British and Canadian troops who arrived in southern Afghanistan this year are now taking part in the US-led ''Operation Mountain Thrust'', launched this week to push into the area's remote highlands. US commanders have described it as one of their biggest offensives in years.

''We have been engaged in it since we got here,'' Butler said.

The British and Canadian troops have been sent to form the backbone of a NATO peace force due to take over responsibility for the area from a US-led anti-insurgency force soon.

Until that handover, the British and Canadians are formally under US command. That has added to worries in both countries that their troops might become more embroiled in aggressive counter-insurgency operations than the peacekeeping NATO has done in other parts of Afghanistan.

The British and Canadians each suffered their first combat deaths in recent months, and southern Afghanistan has seen a surge in guerrilla strikes this year ahead of the NATO takeover.

But Butler said increasing clashes with his troops in Helmand could be seen as a sign of British success at mobilising quickly throughout the province.

''The coalition have been going into more places, so we have been coming up against more Taliban,'' he said.

''The lawless areas where people haven't been for 30 years, we're going to those areas. So they have fewer places to hide.'' Before Britain deployed 2,200 troops to Helmand, the province -- which produces a quarter of Afghanistan's opium crop -- had just a small US provincial reconstruction team.

Britain also has troops in neighbouring Kandahar and commands the NATO headquarters in Kabul for a force expected to peak at about 6,000 in the next few months.

The NATO expansion will allow the United States to reduce its troop levels by about 3,000.

REUTERS MP KN2110