A rethink is needed on the resources and troop numbers devoted to Britain’s mission in southern Afghanistan, the head of the Army said yesterday. On a visit to Kabul, General Sir Richard Dannatt, Chief of the General Staff, said that the high number of deaths in recent days had made people question “what we’re doing [and] how we’re doing it".

“We’ve got to think through the way that we operate, the resources we’ve got, the numbers we’ve got . . . to make sure that we’re giving ourselves the absolute best chance of succeeding, and part of that . . . would then be to minimise our casualties,” he told BBC Radio 4.

Public disquiet over the leap in fatalities — eight in one 24-hour period, 15 since July 1 — has alarmed Washington and the American military in Afghanistan because of the doubts being raised about the campaign and the resources being given to British troops, senior Nato diplomatic sources told The Times.

A Pentagon official said that Washington had taken note. “We’re aware of the debates going on about the role and size of the British force but in [the Pentagon] the only talk is about the performance and commitment and sacrifices of the British troops.

“There’s no dissatisfaction here over the British campaign. On the contrary, just enormous respect for what they’re doing. But we’re all in the same boat, we’re all suffering casualties, but ultimately we will make a difference on the ground,” the official said.

Despite an acknowledgment that the British force in Helmand has suffered a painful period, alliance sources pointed out that American casualties were far higher. Nine US troops died in one day a year ago when Taleban insurgents attacked a base in eastern Afghanistan. Two US Marines died in an explosion in southern Helmand yesterday, taking the American death toll so far this year to 107, compared with 47 British deaths.

The Taleban also shot down a civilian helicopter close to the British base at Sangin, northern Helmand, killing the crew of six Ukrainians. The Mi26 belonged to a Moldovan aviation company, Pectox Aviation, which does humanitarian work for Nato forces. An Afghan child died and another civilian was injured in the crash.

The alliance diplomatic sources said: “The Americans are concerned about the public mood in Britain following the high number of recent deaths. The British are taking the biggest hits at the moment, but it’s not as if they are on their own in Helmand. There are 4,000 US Marines, a Danish battalion and a company from Estonia. They’re all facing the same risks.”

General Dannatt, who had earlier attended a special ceremony at Camp Bastion, central Helmand, to honour the eight soldiers whose bodies were repatriated to Britain — including five from 9 Platoon C Company 2 Rifles, killed in two explosions in Sangin on Friday — said the mission was important and the campaign would succeed.

“Things are much clearer if you flip the coin and look at the other side and ask yourself the question: what if we were to pull out unilaterally, what if we were to just come out of this mission?” he said. “Frankly, the consequences of that are appalling. So we will succeed, we must succeed.”

Despite the American concerns over rising anti-war publicity in Britain, military sources insisted that co-operation between American and British commanders in Helmand was unaffected by the doubts being raised at home.

The two principal commanders are Brigadier Tim Radford, commander of the British Task Force, and Brigadier-General Larry Nicholson, who leads the US Marines. Military sources said: “The relationship between the two commanders is excellent. They speak often by telephone, we are sharing assets on operations, we have liaison officers in each other’s HQs, and they recently praised each other’s efforts in the respective operations at a press conference with Afghan journalists.”

In other incidents, an Italian paratrooper died in a roadside bomb attack on a convoy that wounded three other soldiers in the province of Farah, bordering Helmand. Italy has more than 3,250 troops based in the west of the country and in Kabul. The soldier was the 14th fatality suffered by Italian forces in Afghanistan.

The Afghan Interior Ministry also reported that a Taleban roadside bomb blew up under a civilian vehicle in the southern province of Uruzgan, killing three civilians and wounding six others.

Times Recommends

• Charles blazes trail as sun king
• Thalidomiders win payout 50 years on
• Libel gag on talk of 'medical hurricane'