Coldstream Guards in final operation before return
29 Apr 10
Days before they're due to return home to the UK, soldiers from 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, in partnership with Afghan security forces, have conducted a helicopter insertion operation to search a village suspected to be held under insurgent control.
Soldiers of B multiple, 9 Platoon, 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, running up to a Chinook helicopter for extraction
[Picture: Corporal Barry Lloyd RLC, Crown Copyright/MOD 2010]
As troops on the ground approached the village in South Malgir - just north of the Helmand River - from one side, a secondary force was lifted in two Chinooks from Camp Bastion and inserted to the south of the village.
This secondary force then swept north, to eventually meet up with the ground troops.
The battalion's Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Toby Gray, said of the operation:
"The deployment of Coldstream Guardsmen on aviation operations in Babaji has paralysed the Taliban in the area and reassured the local population."
A local child chats with a soldier from the Coldstream Guards as 3 Company, 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, take part in a joint operation with the Afghan National Army
[Picture: Corporal Barry Lloyd RLC, Crown Copyright/MOD 2010]
Afghan security forces spearheaded the operation, conducting searches of village compounds looking for any signs of insurgent activity while at the same time speaking with locals.
A British Army search dog, Caspian, also aided them in their hunt.
The Guardsmen have been working jointly with Afghan forces on operations throughout their six-month tour of duty.
Although no weapon caches were found, the operation removed the presence of insurgents from a known troubled area and reassured the population of the Afghan Government's presence and commitment in the region.
