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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Longer Afghanistan tours for British soldiers | Longer Afghanistan tours for British soldiers |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| British troops will start serving longer tours in Afghanistan with a new timetable expected to be announced by Defence Secretary Philip Hammond. | British troops will start serving longer tours in Afghanistan with a new timetable expected to be announced by Defence Secretary Philip Hammond. |
| The BBC has learned that soldiers with the next brigade in Helmand, starting in September, will serve up to eight months instead of the usual six months. | |
| The following and final brigade to be deployed will serve up to nine months. | |
| The move means only two more brigades will be needed before British forces withdraw from Afghanistan by 2015. | The move means only two more brigades will be needed before British forces withdraw from Afghanistan by 2015. |
| A few hundred soldiers will remain in Helmand into 2015 after combat operations have ended. | A few hundred soldiers will remain in Helmand into 2015 after combat operations have ended. |
| This is in order to finish returning valuable equipment to the UK after the end of operations. | This is in order to finish returning valuable equipment to the UK after the end of operations. |
| An announcement is set to be made by Mr Hammond in Parliament later. | |
| Troop withdrawal | Troop withdrawal |
| A report by the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee published on Tuesday said the MoD estimated that the cost of bringing equipment back from Afghanistan would be anything between £1bn and £2bn. | A report by the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee published on Tuesday said the MoD estimated that the cost of bringing equipment back from Afghanistan would be anything between £1bn and £2bn. |
| Most international troops are scheduled to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014. | Most international troops are scheduled to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014. |
| There are still questions over how many foreign soldiers will remain after the 2014 deadline, with an acceptance that some special forces will stay to conduct "counter-terror operations" and others to support and train Afghan forces. | There are still questions over how many foreign soldiers will remain after the 2014 deadline, with an acceptance that some special forces will stay to conduct "counter-terror operations" and others to support and train Afghan forces. |
| Nato is in the process of handing over security control, and some strategically important areas have already been transferred to Afghan forces. | Nato is in the process of handing over security control, and some strategically important areas have already been transferred to Afghan forces. |
| The UK - the second largest contributor to Nato's Afghanistan operation - has about 9,000 troops in Afghanistan. | The UK - the second largest contributor to Nato's Afghanistan operation - has about 9,000 troops in Afghanistan. |
| Some 4,000 more will be brought home by this summer with the remainder leaving before 2015. | Some 4,000 more will be brought home by this summer with the remainder leaving before 2015. |
| British forces have been mainly based in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan after operations began in 2001. | British forces have been mainly based in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan after operations began in 2001. |