Royal Marines clear way for electricity to flow

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Oct 9, 2004
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Marines clear way for electricity to flow

By Thomas Harding and Richard Holt

06/02/2007

An intense battle fought by British troops in Afghanistan, which cleared the Taliban from an area surrounding a major dam, means that millions of Afghans will soon receive electricity.


Royal Marines in action during Operation Volcano as they aim to remove the Taliban from their compounds


For months, British troops have been fighting insurgents around the Kajaki hydro-electric dam with the terrorists harassing local villages and British positions in a struggle to control much of the country's electricity.

Dramatic pictures released yesterday showed Royal Marines of 42 Commando fighting their way through Taliban bases.

It is hoped that the removal of 25 insurgent compounds will end the constant harassment from mortar and rocket fire which has driven local residents from the area in northern Helmand province.

Operation Volcano was designed to create a safe zone around the dam, which can generate power for 1.8 million people, and allow workers to repair it.

Only about 10 percent of Afghans have access to electricity.


Under attack: British troops in the area have been regularly fired on from a number of villages around Kajaki


In a statement the Ministry of Defence said the area had been "the site of regular insurgent mortar attacks over the past two months and civilians have been forced from their homes leaving the dam largely unserviceable".

Troops who had been in the area for six weeks were regularly fired on from villages around Kajaki and came under attack during the clearance operation, calling in air and other support for help.

There are nearly 6,000 British troops in Afghanistan as the largest deployment in the 37-nation International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) after the United States.

Helmand province is Afghanistan's largest opium and heroin producer and a district capital of the region has been in Taliban hands since Friday.

ISAF and the Afghan government say an insurgency launched after the Taliban were driven from power in late 2001 cannot be won through military means alone.

They say it needs ordinary Afghans to see an improvement in their lives, including through the supply of services, before the insurgency can be brought under control.


Flashpoint ...a Royal Marine fires a missile at the Taliban. The kickback, causing the weapon to thud against the ground, caused this explosion of rocks and gravel.


telegraph.co.uk
 
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