SIX RAF Harrier bombers are being sent to Afghanistan to provide ground-attack support for American and Nato troops operating in different parts of the country.

It is the first time that Britain has agreed to deploy combat aircraft to Afghanistan since British troops were sent to help to topple the Taleban in November 2001.

Deployed as part of Operation Veritas, the codename for the mission in Afghanistan, the six Harrier GR7 bombers from No 3 Squadron, based at RAF Cottesmore in Leicestershire, will arrive in about two weeks and will stay for at least nine months.

The Harriers will be equipped with a whole range of weaponry, including Paveway laser-guided bombs, Maverick precision-guided air-to-ground missiles and CRV7 unguided rockets.

The decision to send RAF bombers followed the departure of the US Marines from their base at Kandahar in the south, as part of the normal rotation of American troops. The US Marines are equipped with their own version of Harrier, known as AV8B.

No 3 Squadron’s Harriers with a ground and air crew of 315 personnel, will be based at Kandahar but will be available for operations in any part of the country.

Britain has about 450 ground troops serving in Afghanistan under the auspices of the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf). The British troops are serving in Kabul, the capital, and in the north, at Mazar e-Sharif and Meymaneh, where they provide provincial reconstruction teams (PRTs), recently put under Nato command.

For the Harrier deployment, the Ministry of Defence will also send out specialists from 53 Field Squadron (Airfield Support), Royal Engineers who will carry out minor building work at Kandahar airfield. The ground crew will then be reduced to about 230 personnel once they have completed the work.

The need for the RAF Harriers underlines the significant threat still posed by Taleban and al-Qaeda remnants. The Harriers are uniquely capable of providing close-air support for troops on the ground.

The Harriers will be present throughout the period leading up to the presidential election, due to be held on October 9, and in the months afterwards. US Marine AV8Bs have been involved in numerous close-air support operations, backing ground-troop action against Taleban forces.

A spokeswoman for the RAF said that the US-led coalition in Afghanistan had made a request for the British Harriers after the announcement that the 2,400-strong 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit would be pulling out. The US Marines had been in southern Afghanistan since March.

The Harriers will also be equipped with surveillance systems to carry out a reconnaissance role. Although based in Kandahar in the south, the Harriers will able to operate in other areas of Afghanistan because of the presence of refuelling tankers in the country.

Under plans announced at the Nato heads of government summit in Istanbul in June, alliance troops are to create more provincial reconstruction teams — a mix of military, diplomatic and aid development specialists — in western Afghanistan. “The Harriers will be able to provide protection for the new PRTs,” the spokeswoman said.

Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, said yesterday: “Deployment of these aircraft confirms our commitment to the Nato mission in Afghanistan.

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