Helicopter assault smashes Taliban drug factory

Operation TYRUNA saw 18 UK, US and Australian helicopters carrying 300 soldiers from The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, accompanied by Afghan National Army troops, descended on the Taliban stronghold of Malmand Chinah, close to Ghowrak in the Sangin Valley, just after nightfall on 7 August 2009.

Nine Chinooks, three Black Hawks, two Sea Kings and four Apache attack helicopters swept across a vast expanse of open desert before targeting the remote and isolated compound area to clear it of suspected Taliban fighters.

After the initial air assault hundreds of soldiers filed off the helicopters before moving into the heart of Malmand Chinah.

The British and Afghan troops were soon engaged by Taliban fighters lying in wait in for them. The troops returned fire and were drawn into a short but fierce fight through the rabbit warren of rooms in the mud compounds.

They then mounted a fierce attack with explosives experts smashing their way through the Taliban-ridden compounds by blasting holes in the walls to allow a stream of soldiers to flood into the area, sweeping through one narcotics lab after another.

Using sniffer dogs they pinpointed and seized a massive haul of 250 kilogrammes of wet opium as well as a number of weapons, all of which was destroyed in situ.

By the break of dawn, the troops extracted from the compounds to the makeshift helicopter landing site in the desert, where a fleet of helicopters reloaded the troops and took them back to their base in Kandahar.

It is thought that seven insurgents were killed during the assault.

Major Robin Lindsay from The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, led the operation. He said:

"This was a highly successful operation. This type of high intensity technique, where we airlift a large number of troops into a small area, effectively storming it, has been shown to work time after time.

"It proves to the Taliban beyond doubt that they have no safe havens even in the most remote, isolated places. We can hit them at will wherever and whoever they are. There are no out-of-bounds areas for ISAF [International Security Assistance Force] troops.

"The money that would have come from the sale of the opium would undoubtedly have funded the insurgents' activities, further strengthening their hold in the area and their ability to launch deadly attacks on coalition forces. This kind of operation hits at the heart of the insurgency because it significantly reduces their capability to continue the fight. With fewer numbers and diminished resources, they are simply less effective."

The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS), is based in Camp Roberts at Kandahar Airfield, home to the forces of seven nationalities within the ISAF coalition, many of which worked together on this operation as well as local Afghan forces, the effectiveness of which Major Lindsay praised:

"This air assault highlights the truly multi-national nature of operations in Afghanistan. Notably, we were accompanied by quite a number of our Afghan counterparts and the success of the operation is also testament to their effectiveness. They are committed, professional and brave; a true force to be reckoned with."

The battalion took over as the Regional Battle Group (South) on 10 April 2009. 3 SCOTS are part of 19 Light Brigade who currently make up Task Force Helmand but 3 SCOTS are responsible for supporting a variety of operations across the whole of southern Afghanistan, not just those of the main UK Task Force in Helmand province.