Afghan Artillery Supports ISAF for First Time in Attack on Insurgent Southern Gateway

A Royal Air Force CH47 Chinook Helicopter re-supplies Patrol Base Delhi prior to Op Glacier 4

Royal Marine Commandos from India Company lay down fire from a Heavy Machine Gun on to Taliban positions in the Town of Garmsir

A new day dawns and another Taliban position is destroyed by Air Support in the town of Garmsir, Afghanistan during Op Glacier 4

ISAF and Afghan troops have conducted a major operation to target the Taliban’s gateway to Helmand Province and allow Afghans back to their homes.

More than 250 troops from several units within the UK Task Force - supported for the first time ever by UK-trained Afghan artillery - took part in Operation Glacier, attacking a major Taliban headquarters and stronghold south of Garmsir in southern Helmand.

The attack began late Saturday night, 17 Feb 2007, on three major compounds and carried on through until Sunday morning. A significant trench and underground tunnel complex linking the strongholds was also destroyed.

The area around Garmsir is a known insurgent area and the UKTF and Afghan security forces have recently come under daily small arms fire and mortar attacks. Garmsir, a once thriving town, has become largely deserted after much of the local population has been displaced into the desert.

Commander of the operation, Lieutenant Colonel Rob MaGowan, conducted shuras with local elders prior to the operation to assess civilian activity in the area. The Governor of Helmand Province, Governor Wafa, was also consulted.

The attack began with artillery and air strikes on the three targets. Significantly, the artillery attack included the first use of three D30 guns by Afghan guncrews from the Afghan National Army. The crews, working alongside those from 29 Commando Royal Artillery, have been trained on the D30s for the past four months by UKTF mentors from the Operational Mentoring and Liaison Teams (OMLTs) and this is the first time they have fired shots in combat.

The Battery Commander of the operation, Major Nick Sargent, praised the ANA guncrews. Maj Sargent said: “Considering they were involved in a complex plan integrating the ANA artillery with UK and US artillery, mortars, and coalition air assets, they performed extremely well.”

Having conducted thorough rehearsals in preparation, ISAF ground troops from Z Company, 45 Commando then launched a ground attack to clear the compounds. They were supported by I Company, Royal Marines and C Squadron Light Dragoons.

Covering the eastern flank, members of the supporting Brigade Reconnaissance Force engaged Taliban forces to the east of the main operation. The BRF held off a larger Taliban force allowing Z Company to continue with the operation and move into their final objective.

There were no UKTF or ANA casualties. There were Taliban casualties but it is not possible to say how many.

Major Jules Wilson, who co-ordinated the operation, said: “This operation aimed to disrupt Taliban activity, deny them their sanctuary and destroy the defensive positions they have routinely been using to launch attacks against Afghan security forces.

“Garmsir is the Taliban gateway to Helmand. In effect large groups of the enemy are now fixed south of Garmsir, ensuring important re-development within the rest of the province can continue,” added Maj Wilson.

While attacking the area the troops discovered an extensive trench and underground bunker system linking compounds; in places the trenches were 40m long, a metre wide and more than 2m deep with a network of firing points and cover positions.

Maj Wilson said: “The big difference between Garmsir and everywhere else in Helmand is that it is very linear in nature. The area is littered with Taliban prepared positions; it’s almost like a First World War battlefield in appearance.

“Previous reconnaissance identified a number of their defences but not to the extent that this operation revealed. Our troops destroyed a number of these trench systems as well as a number of compounds that were being used to shelter fighters from view.”

Lieutenant Colonel Rob MaGowan said: “The operation was a great success, we achieved our objective of destroying and clearing Taliban compounds whilst pushing enemy forces further south from the district centre.”

Lieutenant Colonel Rory Bruce, spokesman for the UKTF, said: “Op Glacier 4 marks the continuation of our recent operations in and around Garmsir to reach out and strike at legitimate Taliban targets and command centres.

“With the first use of Afghan artillery, it also marks a significant step towards enabling full combat capability for the ANA and ultimately to Afghans being able to provide security for themselves.

“Op Glacier 4 is part of our ongoing offensive to disrupt their command chain, their lines of communication and their ability to re-supply and re-arm.”