British Forces attack Taliban in the Snake's Belly

Operation KAPCHA BAZ (Pashtu for 'Cobra Eagle') saw over 250 British military personnel and around 100 Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers, led by Queen's Dragoon Guards, probe and disrupt the enemy, as well as gather intelligence.

Following 42 Commando Group's operations undertaken in the Fish Hook area of the river further south (see Related News >>>), Operation KAPCHA BAZ capitalised on an enemy which had been displaced and forced onto the back foot.

The focus was a number of locations where Taliban fighters had been identified as gathering on the banks of the River Helmand in an area called the Snake's Belly, from the river's shape at this point, around 100km south of Garmsir.

The river here is flanked on each bank by the lush agricultural ground of the Green Zone, with tall maize, wheat and reed beds criss-crossed with irrigation ditches and wadis.

The main assaulting forces for the operation were made up of A Squadron 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards in their heavily armed Jackal vehicles and light CVR(T) [Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked)] fighting vehicles. They were joined by Riflemen from 2nd Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles (2 RGR).

The week prior to the main assault, the ANA Kandak (Afghan terminology for a battalion-size unit) of the 205 Hero Corps had been undertaking probing patrols to disrupt the Taliban in the area. They then played an integral part in the main operation whilst being mentored by an Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team from 1st Battalion The Rifles, and accompanied by attached Royal Engineers.

All were supported by attached fire support teams able to target artillery fire and direct air support and attack helicopters.

Two objectives - WOLF and VIXEN - were identified near a crossroads near one of the villages. This area was believed to be a key location for the co-ordination of enemy fighters and resources being moved north to attack the southernmost line of patrol bases held by British Forces near Garmsir.

15km further south, objective COYOTE was targeted as central to the movement of fighters through the area and, further south still, objective DINGO was an area of heavy Taliban influence - the busy bazaar believed to be a general stopping-off point and co-ordination zone for fighters and materials.

With targets set, the preliminary moves were undertaken on 7 March 2009. Deep in the desert to the east of the Green Zone, the vehicles of A Squadron 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards and the 3 Commando Brigade Reconnaissance Force moved undetected into a lay-up area just a few kilometres to the east of objectives VIXEN and DINGO.

At first light the following morning, A Squadron 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards initiated the second stage of the operation - securing a helicopter landing site which allowed a single wave of three RAF Chinook helicopters to rapidly insert the Gurkhas who had readied themselves for battle at the Forward Operating Base.

With the .50-calibre heavy machine guns of A Squadron's vehicles maintaining overwatch from the high ground, the Gurkhas moved west towards objective WOLF, first pushing through mountainous passes before reaching the Green Zone.

Major Jody Davies, Officer Commanding, D Company, 2 RGR, said:

"After assessing that the enemy were no doubt lying in wait for us, we moved forward in a slow and deliberate way, fully expecting the enemy to open fire on us. However, we spotted the enemy first, positively identified carrying weapons and preparing an ambush, and were able to engage their firing points at first with our own small arms whilst our fire support team called in fire from the guided multi-launch rocket system, which proved deadly."

As they advanced towards the village, the Gurkhas came under heavy fire from a number of firing points with rifles and machine guns. The Taliban fired rocket-propelled grenades, deliberately aimed so they would explode in mid-air to rain shrapnel down on the advancing British Forces:

"Having been forced to spring their ambush early, we were subjected to a maelstrom of fire from machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades," said Major Davies.

Rifleman Bipin Nembang, D Company, 2 RGR, who was in the lead section, said:

"There was no cover, with 30kg on my back there was no other option but to take up a fire position right in the middle of the enemy's kill zone - and fire back on rapid."

His colleague, Rifleman Rabindra Rai, said:

"I was lead scout, moving towards the objective when we came under heavy enemy fire. This wound me up, and so, taking my life into my hands, I dashed forward and tried to put down as heavy a rate of fire as I could to kill the enemy and protect my friends."

With the weight of enemy fire heavy and sustained, A Squadron's Jackal vehicles sped forward to bring their heavy machine guns and grenade machine guns to bear, placing themselves deliberately between the ground troops and enemy firing points to apply accurate fire.

During the assault, a crewman in one of the Jackals received a gunshot wound to his shoulder. Despite being under continued fire, the vehicle commander, Corporal Luke Cunningham, delivered first aid to his injured colleague and coolly extracted his vehicle, with the casualty, to an emergency helicopter landing site where the injured man was then safely recovered to Camp Bastion Field Hospital for treatment.

Cpl Cunningham from The Royal Dragoon Guards attached to 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards said:

"It was all pretty hectic at the time - the guys on the ground were under some heavy fire from different positions and needed our support. The Jackals are fast and can put down loads of rounds so we moved in to support them.

"There was plenty of accurate fire and my crewman got hit - it was just second nature for me to get in the back there with him and apply the first field dressings and make sure he was all right - the medical team were in quickly and had him away in no time. I know he'd have done the same for me."

Despite being a crewman down, Cpl Cunningham returned to the battle only for his Jackal to be targeted by a rocket-propelled grenade which exploded overhead:

"When it went off above me I thought I was in a bit of trouble, but got up, brushed myself off, realised I was fine and fired straight back with a shoulder-launched missile from the front of the vehicle."

Air support was also brought in by the Joint Terminal Air Controllers, and the main enemy firing point, a heavily dug-in bunker, was neutralised and the objective won, with the enemy fleeing.

In a simultaneous action, the ANA advanced on foot, from where they had mustered to the north, accompanied by their attached mentors and engineers, into objective VIXEN at the southern edge of the village where the Gurkhas and Jackals had been attacking objective WOLF.

With the enemy shocked by the two-pronged attack many had fled and the ANA easily dealt with the remaining resistance. They systematically swept through the area, searching for enemy firing points, reassuring the local population, and dealing with the small pockets of enemy forces that sporadically attacked them.

Major Andy Watkins, Officer Commanding, C Company, 1st Battalion The Rifles, which provide mentoring support to the Afghan National Army, said:

"This operation was an excellent demonstration of how effective the Afghan National Army are becoming. The week before this operation took place, the Kandak had been operating in the bazaar to deliberately and aggressively seize the initiative from the Taliban, forcing the enemy off prepared defensive positions. Operation KAPCHA BAZ was based on the intelligence gained from this earlier action.

"The Afghan National Army then planned and executed an assault on objective VIXEN. The Kandak has become adept at lightning assaults on the enemy where they gather for the fight."

To the north of the village, D Company, 2nd Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles, had moved into the bazaar where the retreating enemy had deliberately started fires in local shops in an attempt to both delay the advancing British Forces and to discredit them with the local population. D Company fought against the flames to save shops and homes but, despite their best efforts, at least six local businesses were destroyed.

With the contact with the enemy finally over, a shura was held with local elders, led by the ANA, to explain the necessity of the operation and reassure the population over their presence.

To complete the disruption of the enemy, the 3 Commando Brigade Reconnaissance Force lay in wait for those fleeing south, intercepting them as they fled. They moved into objectives COYOTE and DINGO, from where they saw suspected insurgents fleeing the area on motorcycles and in pick-up trucks. The Jackal vehicles used by the 3 Commando Brigade Reconnaissance Force played their role, as Major Chris Haw Royal Marines, the Officer Commanding, explained:

"The Jackals have the ability to move fast and have the means to engage the enemy. The open nature of the vehicle is essential for the sort of reconnaissance task we were engaged in and gave us accessibility to the local people we are trying to influence."

After conducting reassurance patrols with the local people all forces began to extract back to the east, laying up overnight to further observe the movement of any suspected enemy forces fleeing the area.

Exhausted from their efforts, all but one troop of 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards and the 3 Commando Brigade Reconnaissance Force returned to the Forward Operating Base, either by road or helicopter from their original insertion point.

Over the following two days, those remaining forces focused on gaining a deeper understanding of the area. They visited two villages, once again holding a series of shuras with local people to reassure them over the presence and motives of British and Afghan forces.

The previous days' fighting had significantly disrupted the enemy and there was almost no contact aside from the discovery of a single improvised explosive device and one ineffective rocket attack encountered as they returned to join their colleagues back at the Forward Operating Base.

Lieutenant Colonel Alan Richmond, Commanding Officer Battle Group South, said:

"At the start of the tour we found the enemy pressing up against our patrol base line that protected Garmsir District Centre, in the area we call the 'Snake's Head'. Five months on, and after a series of operations to wrest the initiative away from the enemy and keep him constantly on the back foot, we now have to travel a long way south to find the enemy.

"The breathing space that we have won through operations such as KAPCHA BAZ has enabled the delivery of reconstruction and development of the Garmsir area and gives tangible proof to those that live there of the benefits that the Government of Afghanistan, supported by ISAF [International Security Assistance Force], can bring to their lives."