# Royal Welsh Find IED Cache



## tomahawk6 (23 Mar 2010)

Alot of lives were saved by this find. Hope the troops find more of these cache's.








http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/RoyalWelshUncoverLargeStashesOfTalibanIeds.htm

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.

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.

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.

Lieutenant Chris Annear said:

"We were surprised we met so little resistance. Many of the compounds seemed unoccupied. We found one with a local national residing in it. When we asked him if there were any IEDs in the area he pointed to the three compounds surrounding his.

"We went in and couldn't believe our eyes. It was the jackpot; an IED factory with areas for making homemade explosives, storage areas and IED assembly areas."

This find is believed to have cut off the supply chain to the insurgents in the area of Showal and taken away their factories and storage facilities.


IEDs have been responsible for approximately 80 per cent of British deaths in Helmand province over the last two years. The finds will be another blow to the Taliban's IED threat.

Fusilier Handley, aged 21, from B Company, 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh, said:

"We had a small find in the first few days of the operation so it became second nature to search under haystacks when we were in a suspicious area.

"This time it really paid off and it is a great feeling knowing we have potentially saved hundreds of lives with this find."

Lance Corporal O'Brien said:

"This is my third tour of Afghanistan with the Royal Welsh and to find all this IED equipment is a real high point and I really hope that we have helped to save the lives of other soldiers and local civilians."

Since the start of Operation MOSHTARAK, 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh have conducted a number of operations with their Afghan National Army counterparts in this area of central Helmand in order to provide the security the local population need to build a future free of Taliban intimidation.


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## MaDB0Y_021 (24 Mar 2010)

Nice job, guys!


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