UK Army Bomb Disposal Chief Resigns

The British Army's top bomb disposal officer has resigned after expressing concerns about the shortage of new recruits in Afghanistan.

UK Ministry of Defense said in a statement that Colonel Bob Seddon, principal ammunition technical office of the Royal Logistics Corps, would step down in January over concerns about the pressures on his team operating in Afghanistan.

"I am very concerned over the pressures they are facing in Afghanistan," The Sun newspaper quoted Seddon as saying in a BBC documentary to be broadcast on Monday.

"We've broadened our training and selection but it will take time before these measures come into play. The existing cohorts are going to be under pressure," Seddon said.

A British Army's spokesman confirmed in a statement that the top officer has resigned and will leave his post and the Army in January next year.

"The Army remains committed to the counter IED (improvised explosive devise) effort which is the number one priority in Afghanistan," the spokesman said.

The UK coalition government says its top foreign policy priority is the strategy for Afghanistan, where Britain has 9,500 troops battling Taliban militants.

Some 285 British soldiers have died in Afghanistan since 2001. Three-quarters of these soldiers have been killed by booby-trap bombs laid by the Taliban.