Posted on 06/09/2006 6:08:26 PM PDT by blam
Paras kill 21 Taliban in fierce fight among alleyways
By Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent
(Filed: 10/06/2006)
The first significant encounter between soldiers of the Parachute Regiment and the Taliban involved close-quarters fighting among alleyways and mud buildings.
It was an early indication of the challenges facing British troops recently deployed in southern Afghanistan.
Within 10 seconds of disembarking from their Chinook helicopters outside the village of Nauzad, the troops came under heavy fire from insurgents hidden in houses and behind walls.
As machinegun bullets and rocket-propelled grenades cut through the air, the Paras ran for cover, returning fire only when they could identify the enemy, Major Will Pike, commanding the 100-strong A Company, told the BBC.
During the six-hour battle in northern Helmand province, where 3,300 British troops have been sent in the past six weeks to support Afghan security forces, the Paras killed 21 Taliban militants, rather than the five the Ministry of Defence had earlier reported.
Major Pike said: "We were not going there looking for a fight but to search a compound. The Taliban were very bold. They knew the ground very well - better than we did - and we have respect for the enemy in those terms."
L/Cpl Jonathan Smart described shooting two Taliban fighters after a group approached his section during the engagement last Sunday in which Apache attack helicopters took part.
"I challenged them, they turned their weapons systems on us and we neutralised the threat immediately - meaning we shot and killed them," he said.
Pte Paul Gordon said that one of the problems was in identifying the militants from the local population because they were all in civilian clothes.
The British contingent is part of a Nato force expanding from 9,700 to 16,000 by late July, doubling international troop numbers in the southern region, the heartland of the Taliban.
They have been deployed to help the newly-formed Afghan National Army to fight the increasingly violent militants and try to restrict the drugs trade. Helmand produces nearly 20 per cent of the world's opium.
There are currently 23,000 American troops in the region but their numbers will be cut by several thousand at least.
Brit paras kick ass ping.
The Western bloc is going to have some well seasoned troops.
Yes, but Muslums are incredibly stupid people; so from the intelligence point of view; it's 5.
"As machinegun bullets and rocket-propelled grenades cut through the air, the Paras ran for cover, returning fire only when they could identify the enemy, Major Will Pike, commanding the 100-strong A Company, told the BBC."
Notice the words ..."returning fire only when they could identify the enemy." We will see more of these words in reports from our military and allies. Not because we have been doing just that for years, but because of the many operatives embedded in our military (e.g. Time magazine reporters, etc.).
I love a story with a happy ending.
Atta boys! Go gettim, Brits!
The bad guys have been dropping like plastic ducks in a shooting gallery these last few days.
By Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent
(Filed: 10/06/2026)
The first significant encounter between soldiers of the Parachute Regiment and the Taliban involved close-quarters fighting among alleyways and buildings.
It was an early indication of the challenges facing British troops recently deployed in south London.
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