Shropshire troops storm Taliban stronghold

About 300 Shropshire soldiers stormed a Taliban stronghold in Afghanistan to wrestle back control of an occupied zone from insurgents, it emerged today.

Troops from1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment, based at Tern Hill, near Market Drayton, called in air support then advanced on foot and in vehicles before engaging the enemy.

Eleven insurgents were killed in the battle with many more wounded or taken prisoner.

The soldiers helped clear insurgents from Zarghun Kalay in the Nad-e Ali district of Helmand Province.

Military chiefs said the secretly-planned assault was a big success and took the Taliban by surprise.

It is hoped the assault will improve stability and security for the Afghan communities in the area, some of which had been living in fear of the Taliban.

The regiment joined 100 Afghan National Army troops in a bid to give the community a return to normality.

Military bosses today said the speed of the operation and the total secrecy under which it was planned caught the insurgents completely unaware and they were only able to mount limited resistance before being defeated.

After the assault, work began on a new Afghan National Police checkpoint.

More than 180 residents and elders turned up to meet Nad-e Ali district governor Habibullah Shamalani and commanding officer of the Irish regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Colin Weir.

Lieutenant Colonel Weir said: "In response to a request from the district governor, we and the Afghan National Army have cleared the insurgents from this area. The real work starts now, though, to hold and build here to make life better for the local residents."