Taliban IED hide-out found near Bastion
6 March 2012 |
Afghanistan 
Details have just emerged of a joint UK/US/Afghan operation that's seized and destroyed a large cache of Taliban IED-making equipment south of Bastion Airfield.
Operation Backfoot involved 2 Squadron, RAF Regiment, warriors from Afghan Army’s 3rd Brigade and US Marines from 2 Marine Expeditionary Force.
The force deployed by US Osprey aircraft, with its unique tilt-rotor capability, and as well as seizing the bomb making materials also gathered a wealth of intelligence despite coming under fire several times.
The operation took place in the Dasht (or desert) south of Bastion Airfield - a sparse landscape of rolling fields and scrub dotted with compounds and is increasingly being used as a harbour area by Taliban forces who have come under pressure elsewhere by successful coalition operations. Its protection is the task of 2 Squadron, operating as part of 3 RAF Force Protection Wing.
It is an area where insurgents have mingled with the local population - some of them Taliban sympathizers - and their presence has seen attempts to increase poppy production in the area to fund their summer campaign.
Because of the sparse agricultural cover in the area during the winter, the insurgents have based themselves in compounds to fire on ISAF foot patrols from cover.
The string of IEDs that has been sown across approaches to the area, together with their ‘stand-off and shoot’ tactics, was meant to block ISAF forces from approaching.
Sqn Ldr Jules Weekes, who commanded the RAF troops, said: “There is a certain dynamic to Taliban activities in this area. They operate in small teams of five or six, travelling by motorbike as their preferred guerrilla tactic. Part of this operation is to find out how ‘he’ does business.”
Several suspect compounds were targeted which saw the Ospreys land troops at two separate landing zones, either side of the wide Chah-e Anjir wadi.
The dismounted troops - supported by a number of 2 Squadron Ridgeback and Jackal patrol vehicles and a specialist US Marine IED clearance team – did not go unchallenged. A number of small arms attacks were beaten off by the ground troops and heavier attacks were dealt with by Apache and Cobra gunships. One US Marine patrol, temporarily pinned down by heavy small-arms fire, was supported by a show of force from an F18 which was sufficient to deter the insurgents.
As well as gaining vital intelligence the operation found a substantial IED cache in a compound, which contained a variety of bomb-making equipment, mines and several complete IEDs which were ready to be used against ISAF forces.
Wing Commander Jason Sutton, the commander of 3 RAF Force Protection Wing, said: “The open approaches to this area mean that it is hard to gain the element of surprise. However, by using the Ospreys to approach rapidly from an unexpected direction, the operation managed to achieve it.
“The RAF Regiment’s role is to defend airbases and those who operate from them, but
the old adage of attack being the best form of defence remains as true today as ever. Targeting the insurgents and their supply networks takes the initiative away from them so that we can dictate the terms of the fight. It disrupts the insurgents’ attempts to attack Bastion and its vital air operations, denies them freedom of movement and supports the Afghan National Security Forces as together we work to protect the population who live around the base.”
PICTURE: Ministry of Defence - Dawn breaks as Operation Backfoot gets underway