Afghan war costs British taxpayers $31.3 billion

KABUL (Pajhwok): Almost two decades of conflict in Afghanistan has cost British taxpayers £22.2billion, or $31.3 billion, says the UK defence secretary.

As British troops prepare to leave Afghanistan, James Heappey suggested the 20-year deployment bill could be even higher.

In a written reply to a parliamentary query, Heappey said: “As of May 2021, the total cost of Operation Herrick (codename for the deployment of British soldiers to Helmand province) is £22.2billion.”

According to The Mirror, the defence minister wrote: “There were 457 fatalities on, or subsequently due to, Op Herrick. Of which 403 were due to hostile action…”

During the operation between January 1, 2006 and November 30, 2014, there were 10,382 British service personnel casualties. “Of these 5,705 were injuries and the remainder being illness or disease.”

The UK’s remaining 750 troops in Afghanistan, involved in training local forces, started exiting the war-devastated country in May. Most of them will return home by the end of July.

PAN Monitor/mud