British ships join patrol off Pakistan

British warships are to join an international force to patrol the Pakistani coast in search of members of the al-Qaida network attempting to flee by sea, defence sources said yesterday.

They will join about 50 ships from the US, France, Japan, Germany, Canada, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Australia. The destroyer HMS Southampton and the frigate HMS Cornwall are the most likely ships to be given new rules of engagement to join the international patrol.

They are part of a British taskforce led by the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious, which have been in the Arabian sea off the Omani coast since September 11. HMS Illustrious has been converted into a helicopter carrier able to airlift commandos to southern Afghanistan.

The taskforce includes the assault ship HMS Fearless, with 200 Royal Marine commandos on board, and seven support ships.

Three French warships, led by the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle - which sailed from Toulon on December 1 - passed through the Suez Canal on Sunday on their way to join the coalition forces who make up the international patrol.

The French taskforce, like the British, could support ground operations in southern Afghanistan.

But British defence officials said yesterday that there were no plans to deploy the Royal Marine commandos - who have been based on Fearless for about a month - for special operations in Afghanistan.

Whether they will be needed may depend on the outcome of the fighting in the mountains around Tora Bora and other mountainous areas of southern Afghanistan, in which 100 SAS troops are believed to be involved.

Seven French vessels will eventually join the international naval force assembled in the Arabian sea, including the nuclear submarine Rubis and the anti-submarine frigate La Motte-Picque.