July on deadly course for British troops

By Larry Shaughnessy
CNN Pentagon Producer
WASHINGTON (CNN) - July is on track to be the deadliest month yet for British troops supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Already 15 British servicemen have died in Afghanistan this month, mostly in connection with Operation Panther's Claw, the British-led offensive in Helmand Province that is mirroring a similar operation by U.S. Marines in the same area.

Britain's deadliest month in Afghanistan so far has been September 2006, when 19 died - 14 in a single incident, the crash of a Royal Air Force plane near Kandahar.

The sudden spike in British deaths has triggered an outcry in the United Kingdom over the mission there and whether it will be successful.

Air Chief Marshall Jock Stirrup, the chief of defence staff for Great Britain, told CNN in an exclusive interview that "every casualty is sad, every casualty is deeply felt by us in the military. I mean, they are part of our military family. The losses, of course, are felt most by the real families of those involved and the bereavement is terrible."

But earlier, he pointed out that at the same time the 15 British troops had been killed, at least 197 Taliban forces had been confirmed killed in fighting.