From the British Allies: Part 3

Biggest British IED clearance transforms Helmand village

A Military Operations news article

15 Mar 11

A village previously seen as a failure in the eyes of Helmand's people has been retaken, regenerated and repopulated in an ongoing operation led by British paratroopers, supported by 80 bomb disposal specialists.

A bomb disposal specialist searches for improvised explosive devices
[Picture: Sergeant Rupert Frere RLC, Crown Copyright/MOD 2011]

Char Coucha - which once had a thriving market and was a place of religious pilgrimage - is back on the road to peace and prosperity thanks to the combined efforts of 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment (2 PARA), members of the British Counter-IED Task Force, and their colleagues from the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police.

The effort - codenamed Operation KAPCHA KWANDIKALAY (or Cobra Safe Village) - has seen the largest-scale, high-risk IED clearance of an entire village to be carried out by British forces in Afghanistan.

More than 40 families have now returned, with more set to follow as efforts to maintain the stable security situation continue.

Throughout 2010, Char Coucha was the scene of intense fighting, as British and Afghan forces battled the insurgency for control of the village. But despite the insurgent fighters remaining under pressure throughout, it became clear that the benefits of military successes were not being felt by local people....

You won't see this on the msm, but you can read it all, and more, here.