LONDON (AP) -- A British official says Defense Secretary Liam Fox plans to tell the House of Commons today that British troops will withdraw from a volatile district in southern Afghanistan where they have sustained nearly 100 deaths.
The official says responsibility for the (Sangin) valley in Helmand province will be turned over to U.S. forces by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, an adviser to Prime Minister David Cameron says
British soldiers have become insurgent targets in Helmand. Former army chief Richard Dannatt tells BBC radio the intention of going into Southern Afghanistan had been "to try to get the country on its feet economically." But he says British soldiers have been spread too thinly.
Britain has about 10,000 troops in Afghanistan, and most are based in Helmand.
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