LONDON—Cpl. Sarah Bryant had been traveling with a detachment of elite British Special Forces in Helmand Province, south Afghanistan, when the Land Rover she had been traveling in exploded in a ball of flames.

The 26-year-old, from Cumbria, U.K., was killed in the blast from a roadside bomb that destroyed the vehicle—becoming the first British woman to die in the Afghan conflict.

However, she was not the first to have been killed while being transported in a ‘Snatch’ Land Rover, a light vehicle used by the British military which some say leaves troops vulnerable to roadside bombs.

Her death, two years ago, has become a galvanizing force for families of injured or killed service personnel, who have long campaigned for the “budget vehicle” to be replaced by a more heavily-armored alternative.

Amid mounting accusations that the U.K. government was putting soldiers’ lives at risk by failing to provide adequate equipment, Prime Minister Gordon Brown this week announced that the vehicle, described as a “death trap for so many men and women,” was to be withdrawn from the conflict in Afghanistan.

The beleaguered prime minister flew to Camp Bastion, in Helmand Province, on Saturday, to promise troops 200 new patrol vehicles, which can more effectively resist improvised explosive devices.

“We will do everything we can to support you with the equipment necessary and the resources you need,” he told the troops.

Brown’s Accused of Failing the Military

The announcement came after a week in which the prime minister, who is gearing up to a general election this year, faced accusations of failing the troops in the Middle East conflict while he was Treasury minister in Tony Blair’s government.

Brown was said to have boarded the plane to Afghanistan just 90 minutes after giving evidence to the U.K.’s Chilcot Inquiry.
The Inquiry was convened by Brown last July to identify lessons Britain can learn from the Iraq conflict.

During his four-hour interview with the Inquiry, Brown defended his record on military funding, insisting that he had never turned down any request for money to buy military equipment.

His statement was immediately criticized as “misleading” and “disingenuous” by Lords Boyce and Guthrie, both former chiefs of the Defense staff.

Maj. Gen. Tim Cross, who supervised the British effort to reconstruct Iraq, also stated that when Brown was Treasury minister, “the Army failed to get the money it needed to meet the level of activity demanded by the government.”

The opposition Conservative Party has also sought to portray Brown’s actions, in the run-up to a general election, as a political stunt.

“The timing of this visit is cheap and cynical, even for Gordon Brown,” said Liam Fox, the shadow defense secretary (term for the parallel cabinet position in the opposition party).

Snatch Land Rover Tragedies

More than 265 British soldiers have died since the war in Afghanistan began in 2001, and 36 of those were killed by roadside bombs while being transported in Snatch Land Rovers.

Last week, an inquiry into the death of Sarah Bryant and three other special forces soldiers, heard a testimony from a survivor of the bombing.

The soldier, who could not be named, told the inquest he would have preferred to use a Land Rovers WMIK, which in his opinion, are much better for the job.

“There was a lot of worry that these weren’t the right vehicle in our opinion for the job in hand,” he said of the Snatch Land Rovers.

A small group of families whose sons have been killed by roadside bombs while in Snatch Land Rovers have been campaigning for a full inquiry into the safety of the vehicles for five years.

Roger Bacon, whose son Matthew was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2005, said that the tragedy wouldn’t have happened if he had been better protected.

“When the roadside bombs are around these vehicles become a death trap,” said Bacon, 63, a former police officer, in an interview at the time.

“Some soldiers killed by roadside bombs would be alive today if they had been in the right vehicles.”

Following Brown’s visit to Camp Bastion on Saturday, officials are expected to be announcing a $151 million investment in new vehicles to replace Snatch Land Rovers.

The new vehicles, which should arrive in Afghanistan by late 2011, have better armor and more maneuverability.

In addition, another $27 million is slated to be spent on metal detectors and training for Afghan forces to help them combat roadside bombs.

‘Death Trap’ Trucks to be Phased Out in Afghanistan