British troops in Afghanistan set to battle Taliban's 'Koran' tactics

London, Apr 25(ANI): The British troops in Afghanistan expect the Taliban to copy Al-Qaida tactics against them by making false claims that the forces have burned copies of the Koran and outraged local Muslims in other ways.

"We will see attempts at spectacular attacks. We will also see political spectaculars, perhaps claims of burning the Koran and various allegations against the coalition," The Daily Star quoted Brigadier James Cowan, Task Force Helmand Commander, as saying.

Brigadier Cowan further warned that although the British and the allied forces have been successful in partially bringing back peace in the region, he insists that the war is "not over yet".

"Although we've achieved a fair amount in the last few months, the enemy has not gone away yet," Brigadier Cowan said.

"I'm confident that over the period of the next campaign season we will see progress, but we shouldn't expect things to be easy," he added.

British troops went to Afghanistan in November 2001 as part of an American-led invasion in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

There are now 9,000 British troops in Afghanistan, with the vast bulk of 6,200 in Helmand, a Taliban stronghold.

They had moved into Helmand in 2006, when then Defence Secretary John Reid said their mission was to help Afghans reconstruct their economy and democracy. (ANI)