Helmand day four - the rising death toll

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In the fourth entry in his diary from Afghanistan's Helmand province, the BBC's Ian Pannell asks whether Britain has the resources to protect its troops as the death toll exceeds 150.

"Lance Corporal Chris 'H' Harkett personified the spirit and character of The Royal Welsh."

A simple eulogy for the 150th member of British forces to die in Afghanistan.

L/Cpl Harkett was on a foot patrol near Musa Qala when he was injured in an explosion. He died on Saturday.

This morning we woke to the news that two more soldiers were killed on Sunday, this time in Garmsir. Both incidents happened here in Helmand Province.

For now we are at Camp Bastion, the main logistical base for British forces and the mood is sombre and flags are flying at half-staff. The military tend to be stoic and rather practical about death but it is the shadow that follows every soldier, sailor and marine in Helmand <a class="" href="/1/hi/uk/7935874.stm">Helmand day one - the visit</a><a class="" href="/1/hi/uk/7938891.stm">Helmand day two - the true believer</a><a class="" href="/1/hi/uk/7942269.stm">Helmand day three - inches and plate spinning</a>

The military tend to be stoic and rather practical about death but it is the shadow that follows every soldier, sailor and marine in Helmand.

The Ministry of Defence, the Foreign Office and the Department for International Development prefer to talk about the progress being made here.

We have certainly been shown plenty of "proof" of that over the last week.

But at the same time the mission here is becoming increasingly dangerous.

Britain's military commitment here began after 11 September, 2001.

Since then there have been accidents and incidents of "friendly-fire".

But the vast majority of the deaths have been combat-related.

Gallows humour

The bloodiest winter on record has just come to an end and all expectations are for a violent summer ahead.

The figures also reveal another trend: more troops are now dying as a result of IEDs (improvised explosive devices) than ever and it has become the number one danger for forces operating here.Captain Wayne Owers has one of the world's most dangerous jobs

We spent a day with one of the teams dedicated to defusing these hidden bombs.

Very often they are not roadside, instead they are literally dug into roads that are not paved.

We travelled inside a baking, airless armoured vehicle to find and defuse the device.

The team is made up of the Royal Engineer Search Team, whose job it is to locate the bombs and the Royal Logistic Corps whose job is to defuse them.

There is a certain gallows humour among the unit.

When we arrive, the search team move out to make the area safe, then it is over to the man with one of the most dangerous jobs in the world and it is his very first time.

Captain Wayne Owers gets a full brief on where the bomb is buried, how it was discovered (an Afghan soldier spotted it after he had literally stepped on it) and what it looks like.

The bomb-disposal team move in but ultimately it is down to Captain Owers, on his own, to take the longest walk to the device.

We watch from 80m away as he moves to the ground and works around the bomb.

The rest of the unit keeps guard while the locals move away.

Home-made explosives

It is hot, dusty and dangerous and the Taleban have been firing rockets nearby.

Eventually a controlled explosion is set and Captain Owers moves away.

A huge plume of smoke rushes towards the sky, accompanied by a loud, deep boom. It was 20kg of home-made explosives, enough to kill and maim many people whether on foot or in a vehicle.Captain Owers successfully carries out a controlled explosion

Captain Owers and the unit have already moved on to other bombs, elsewhere in Helmand, knowing there will be many more days like this and demands on their time that they could never hope to meet.

The Ministry of Defence is fond of saying that it has the resources to conduct the military campaign, but with 152 men and women killed in Afghanistan there are serious questions about whether or not they have the resources to protect those troops.

<i>The Helmand diary is reported on jointly by Ian Pannell and John Boon</i>