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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. Thousands of British troops will start serving longer tours in Afghanistan from October, the defence secretary has announced.
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. Soldiers deployed this autumn will serve up to eight months instead of the usual six, Philip Hammond told MPs.
The following and final brigade to be deployed will serve up to nine months. He said those deployed next year could serve for as long as nine months.
The move means only two more brigades will be needed before British forces withdraw from Afghanistan by 2015. Up to 3,700 personnel could be affected by the move, which means troops will remain in Afghanistan into 2015 - after combat operations are expected to end.
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, which MPs predict could cost up to £2bn.
This is in order to finish returning valuable equipment to the UK after the end of operations. Strategically important
An announcement is set to be made by Mr Hammond in Parliament later. Mr Hammond told the Commons the Ministry of Defence had been looking at how best to "deploy declining numbers of troops".
Troop withdrawal He said service personnel serving more than seven-and-a-half months would be paid an extra allowance of £50 a day.
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. But the announcement would not affect future troop deployments and was "emphatically not a shift in policy".
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.
The Defence Secretary said it was not possible to be precise about the number of British troops who would be affected by Tuesday's announcement.
But "current estimates suggest between 2,200 and 3,700 overall may deploy more than six and a half months", he said.
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.