Brits build bridge of heroes
Under fire ... British soldiers toil while guarded by pals
By TOM NEWTON DUNN
June 23, 2007
DARING British soldiers build a bridge across an Afghan river — while under fire from the Taliban.
The front-line crossing allowed fast-moving troops to destroy a force of the fanatical fighters.
It was the first time the Royal Engineers — who were guarded by 200 fellow soldiers, inset — have built a combat assault bridge since the 1950s.
The mission was launched before dawn yesterday to drive the enemy away from the besieged town of Garmsir, in the war-torn badlands of south Helmand province.
On guard ... a British soldier prepares to defend the Royal Engineers
Squaddies in an outpost base there had been attacked more than 100 times in the past two months.
Meanwhile, a squaddie died last night after another Iran-supplied bomb tore through his armoured vehicle in Basra, southern Iraq.
The unnamed member of the 4th Battalion, the Rifles, had suffered head and chest injuries.
The bomb is believed to have been a type made and handed to rebels by Iranian troops.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman expressed “deep regret” and said next of kin had been informed.
thesun.co.uk
Under fire ... British soldiers toil while guarded by pals
By TOM NEWTON DUNN
June 23, 2007
DARING British soldiers build a bridge across an Afghan river — while under fire from the Taliban.
The front-line crossing allowed fast-moving troops to destroy a force of the fanatical fighters.
It was the first time the Royal Engineers — who were guarded by 200 fellow soldiers, inset — have built a combat assault bridge since the 1950s.
The mission was launched before dawn yesterday to drive the enemy away from the besieged town of Garmsir, in the war-torn badlands of south Helmand province.
On guard ... a British soldier prepares to defend the Royal Engineers
Squaddies in an outpost base there had been attacked more than 100 times in the past two months.
Meanwhile, a squaddie died last night after another Iran-supplied bomb tore through his armoured vehicle in Basra, southern Iraq.
The unnamed member of the 4th Battalion, the Rifles, had suffered head and chest injuries.
The bomb is believed to have been a type made and handed to rebels by Iranian troops.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman expressed “deep regret” and said next of kin had been informed.
thesun.co.uk