UK troops squeeze Helmand militants (From Lancashire Telegraph)

UK troops squeeze Helmand militants

7:04pm Friday 30th July 2010 in National News © Press Association 2011

British forces have made progress in a fresh assault on the Taliban in southern Afghanistan and are holding two compounds.

Operation Tor Shezada, a bid to squeeze insurgents out of central Helmand province, began on Friday morning when soldiers were dropped into Sayedebad under cover of darkness.

The operation is intended to push insurgent fighters further from the population centres cleared as part of Operation Mostarak earlier this year.

UK troops, led by 1st Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, are partnering Afghan forces from 3rd Brigade, 215 Corps, to clear insurgents from Sayedebad to the south of Nad-e Ali, in parallel to similar operations by the United States Marine Corps in northern Marjah, the Ministry of Defence said.

The operation, significantly smaller than previous operations in the area, was "launched successfully" and is progressing to plan, Lieutenant Colonel James Carr-Smith, spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said.

The soldiers from 1st Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, 21 Engineer Regiment, the Combined IED taskforce, 1st Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, the Joint Helicopter Force (Afghanistan) and members of the Afghan National Army were dropped by Chinook helicopters. They landed close to the town and moved in to clear compounds and establish patrol bases in the area.

Once established, the troops reinforced their positions, with Royal Engineers brought in to clear trees and scrubland around the compounds to enhance the field of vision.

Captain Brad Pino, 13 Platoon Commander, said: "In the early hours of this morning we left Bastion by Chinook and dropped into Sayedebad. We seized and are now holding two compounds, and we're waiting for the rest of the battlegroup now. From lift to landing was probably about 45 minutes. It was actually quite quick. We didn't have any problems and the guys got in there quite quickly so it was a good job."

Moshtarak, involving 15,000 Nato and Afghan troops, was the largest attempt to flush out Taliban fighters since the conflict in Afghanistan began in 2001. Nearly a third of those involved were British personnel.

Hundreds of British troops are being deployed in Operation Tor Shezada, which translates from Pashto as "black prince".