B*N*S*N4

Royal Welsh uncover large stashes of Taliban IEDs

A Military Operations news article

23 Mar 10

In two operations just a week apart soldiers from 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh have uncovered some of the largest quantities of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and IED components found in Afghanistan to date.

Soldiers of B Company, 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh, with the cache of IEDs and IED components found in Nad 'Ali
[Picture: Crown Copyright/MOD 2010]

In Nad 'Ali, central Helmand, where Operation MOSHTARAK has been taking place, the Royal Welsh soldiers discovered 260 IEDs, 38 detonators, and 57 weapons ranging from anti-tank mines and rocket-propelled grenades to AK47 machine guns and grenades.

Eight kilogrammes of homemade explosives were found hidden underneath piles of dry poppy and fertiliser sacks containing approximately 165 IED components, which had the potential to make hundreds of IEDs.

The troops from A Company and B Company made the find as they were flushing out insurgents from their areas of operations.

As the Royal Welsh soldiers from B Company got close to the enemy positions they came under a barrage of small arms fire. Taking cover where they could, the troops quickly set about identifying the enemy's firing positions. When they were unable to do so they called in the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

These UAVs have proved to be an invaluable resource for British and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops on the ground throughout the Afghan campaign.

Lance Corporal Zack O'Brien takes a closer look at the cache of improvised explosive devices found by Royal Welsh soldiers
[Picture: Crown Copyright/MOD 2010]

Four men were also soon detected acting suspiciously by some compounds, south of where the soldiers were located.

The troops moved rapidly to positions closer to the compound. The gunmen had disappeared and Lance Corporal Zack O'Brien and Fusilier Stephen Handley conducted a methodical search of the compounds and uncovered the cache of weapons, IEDs and their components.

Just days before, A Company had pushed forward without resistance to a compound near the bazaar in central Nad 'Ali....

For more on this great B*N*S*N story, go here.