London, May 20 (ANI): Britain's Special Air Service troops will stay in Afghanistan to conduct counter-terrorism operations against remnants of Al-Qaeda after UK combat soldiers leave the warn-torn country in 2014, according to a report.
According to sources, members of the elite regiment will remain in Helmand Province to help Afghan forces weed out insurgents.
Officials said the 'great majority' of British forces would return home, but conceded that the SAS and their naval counterparts, the Special Boat Service (SBS), are almost certain to remain after the deadline, The Daily Mail reports.
"Our forces will not remain in a combat role in Afghanistan beyond 2014. The majority that remain will be in a training and mentoring role," the paper quoted a senior British official, as saying.
'But I wouldn't rule out a small number of forces playing a counter-terrorism role if needed. This would be in keeping with how we are working to protect ourselves from the threat emanating from other parts of the world, such as the Arabian Peninsula," the official added.
According to the paper, security sources said the size of the British deployment would depend on where Al-Qaeda was operating in 2014.
The number of Special Forces could be as low as ten, but could be as high as 200, the report said. (ANI)
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