LONDON: British military forces in Afghanistan are using up missiles, rockets and spare parts at a faster rate than expected, The Daily Telegraph reported on Monday. The newspaper said one unnamed officer in Afghanistan predicted that the stocks of weapons and components that were meant to last until April next year, may be depleted ‘well before Christmas’.

All eight British Apache helicopters are being flown on a daily basis, even though it was intended that only six should fly every day, the newspaper said. A number of them have been hit by Taliban shooters, but none have been seriously damaged.

The defence ministry was given one billion pounds for the Afghanistan mission, money that is being used up at a much faster pace than expected, according to The Daily Telegraph’s unnamed sources, and it may have to ask the treasury for more money.

The defence ministry disputed the claims, however, with a spokeswoman saying: “There’s no problems with re-supply.”

“The force package in Afghanistan is a full and robust package which was asked for by commanders on the ground. They are content with the package.”

“Of course, its always kept under review.”

Some 21 British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan — 14 in combat — since the start of operations against the Taliban in Nov 2001.

Some 4,000 British troops are currently in Helmand province, with the figure set to rise to around 4,500. A further 1,000 are in the capital Kabul and a few hundred are in the southern city of Kandahar.—AFP