UK troops destroy Taliban base

A key Taliban headquarters in Afghanistan - described as their "gateway to Helmand" - has been wiped out by British troops.In a combined operation with the Afghan Army, three large compounds linked by a complex of trenches and underground tunnels around the southern town of Garmsir were destroyed .One officer likened the scene to a First World War battlefield.Operation Glacier 4 - involving more than 250 British troops - was launched with a series of air and artillery strikes on the base.Troops from Z Company, 45 Commando, then mounted a ground attack to clear the compounds, while a reconnaissance force made up of I Company, Royal Marines, and C Squadron, Light Dragoons, held off Taliban reinforcements.There were no British or Afghan Army casualties. The Taliban were said to have suffered casualties, although commanders said that it was not possible to say how many.The commander of the operation, Lieutenant Colonel Rob MaGowan, said that it had been a great success."We achieved our objective of destroying and clearing Taliban compounds whilst pushing enemy forces further south from the district centre," he said.Major Jules Wilson, who co-ordinated the operation, described Garmsir as "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," he said.He said that the British troops had been surprised at how extensive the Taliban's defensive complex was, with 40-metre long trenches, a metre wide and more than 2 metres deep with a network of firing points and cover positions."The area is littered with Taliban prepared positions; it's almost like a First World War battlefield in appearance," he said.© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

ITN | February 20, 2007

Tags:. .reserved. .prepared. .key. .clearing. .operation