MEMBERS of Fire Support Company, 1st Battalion the Royal Welsh, based at the Dale Barracks in Chester, have been clearing insurgents from positions near Shahzad in South West Helmand, Afghanistan.
Tasked with providing flanking protection for army bomb disposal teams, marksmen held insurgents back from positions in a towered compound as their colleagues moved through the area.
The action was part of building on the progress of Operation Moshtarak.
The team had been tasked to secure a compound, but on patrolling towards the location came under heavy fire from Taliban fighters.
One of the team said: “We left our patrol base just before first light towards the compound we wanted to go to and came under contact. We carried out our drills and observed, but couldn’t see anyone so pushed on and that’s when all hell broke loose. We were attacked by different weapons and people, so we moved under fire towards the compound.”
The commander in charge of the team said: “Straight inside, after the complete adrenaline outside, we were expecting them (the insurgents) to be in the compound, but we were confronted by four children, an elderly man and his wife. The lads switched on straight away, cleared the compound of the locals and the interpreter dealt with them. From there, I co- ordinated the snipers up onto the roof.
