Afghanistan: The Price of Reconstruction
8 minutes, 2006
Ref: 518

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We visited the most dangerous place in Afghanistan - Helmand province and witnessed some of the fiercest fighting since World War 2. British troops were given the job of trying to maintain law and order there. They were sent to Afghanistan to help rebuild the country. What they got was war. They tried to secure Helmand province for reconstruction and development and start the process of reversing the effects of decades of conflict and neglect. Posted to "platoon house" in remote towns across northern Helmand province, British soldiers fight almost daily battles to hold their ground. But at what price? Locals say - and exclusive pictures seem to show - that the battles have destroyed at least one major town's main mosque and much of the surrounding central district, with, they say, the loss of many innocent lives. We report on the battles being fought by British soldiers and the destruction wrought in one town and what the locals there think of the invaders.