.

Triumph for British forces in Boy’s Own-style Kajaki mission

It was a task of epic proportions, inspiring comparisons with Commando magazine, Mad Max, the battle of Arnhem in 1944 and the relief of the siege of Mafeking in 1900.

The mission was to take 220 tonnes of turbine and other equipment, worth millions of pounds, across 100 miles of some of the most hostile and heavily mined territory in Afghanistan.

  • At the climax of the Taleban’s fighting season.
  • Without anyone noticing.


    Elements of the convoy taking part in Operation OQAB TSUKA, including Mastiff and Viking armoured vehicles. (Photo Sgt Anthony Boocock, RLC)

    Nato commanders, facing an escalating Taleban insurgency in eastern and southeastern Afghanistan, initially argued that it could not be done until the spring poppy harvest, a traditional low point in the Taleban’s capabilities. But they came under pressure from Washington, which was anxious to secure visible progress before the presidential election to protect funding, according to sources in Kabul.

    OPERATION EAGLE’S SUMMIT

  • So it was that they devised Operation Tsuka (Eagle’s Summit)– their biggest military venture since US-led forces invaded Afghanistan in late 2001 to topple the Taleban Government as punishment for shielding Osama bin Laden.

    It was 2.30am when the convoy finally reached Camp Zeebrugge, crawling through the moonless night like a herd of prehistoric beasts, headlights peering into the dust ahead, brakes squealing at the stars above.

    As attack helicopters circled overhead, and mortar rounds thumped in the distance, the first of the juggernauts came into sight – a 36-wheel, 34-tonne tank transporter carrying a container plastered in Koranic verses.

    Then came another. And another. And more and more until the entire road through the camp was blocked by a procession of lorries, mine-clear-ers, bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers that stretched at times for more than 2½ miles.

    This was the moment when British troops completed one of their most complex and daring operations since the Second World War: outfoxing the Taleban to deliver a giant new turbine to the Kajaki Dam in the southern Afghan province of Helmand.


    Afghan dam triumph as 1,600 British troops carry out most daring raid ‘since Second World War’

    "But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

    0 0 votes
    Article Rating