Helmet-cam captures Yorkshire troops under fire in Afghanistan

The soldiers were out on a joint patrol with their Afghan counterparts when they came under fire last Sunday. The incident was captured by a camera mounted on one of their helmets.

And they said the incident showed how the mentoring work they have been doing with the Afghan National Army (ANA) in Sangin paid off.

An Operational Mentoring Liaison Team (OMLT) from A Company, 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, was patrolling a route where they had cleared half a dozen Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) the previous day.

The men were moving down a dry river bed when they were attacked with gunfire and rocket propelled grenades (RPG).

Platoon Commander, Lieutenant Ian Atkins, said: "We were caught out in the open and it was a bit of a scramble to get the guys into cover.

"Some of the firing was pretty accurate. The bullets were going past your head, around people's feet.

"Once we got into cover it wasn't too bad and we started to get some suppressing fire down onto the enemy position."

Private Chris O'Callaghan said: "We could see the splash marks around our feet.

"You just go back to your training and your drills.

"It's just a natural reaction, get cover, see what you can do to fire back.

"When you're going through it you don't think about it all."

Some of the ANA were on the other side of the open ground.

The British soldiers threw smoke grenades and Lt Atkins ran across to their position.

A bullet had gone through the hand of one of the Afghan soldiers so he called for a medic.

At this point Army medic Lance Corporal Michael MacDiarmid, of 1 Royal Horse Artillery, dashed across the opening.

When he reached the casualty he found the ANA had already treated him, proving that they had learned from the training he had provided earlier in the tour.

The casualty was eventually driven off in the back of a Mastiff and flown to the field hospital at Camp Bastion.

The insurgents, who had been using small holes to fire through, melted back into the surroundings.

Lt Atkins said: "I was happy with my guys, I was happy with the ANA as well.

"The ANA were very good, as soon as they got in contact they reacted properly, they got down good suppressing fire onto the enemy.

"A few RPGs that they fired hit the enemy position bang on.

"The enemy were very lucky not to take a casualty because the RPG landed within a few feet of their position."

There are a series of check points and patrol bases on the short stretch of road from Sangin to Waterloo.

Coalition forces attempt to dominate the ground by watching over the area and going out on patrol.

But Taliban insurgents are still able to lay IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) within a few hundred metres of the bases.

In one instance the insurgents left a bomb in the body of dead cow at the side of the road.

Lt Atkins, 27, from Taylor Hill, Huddersfield, said: "The locals who live next to the patrol bases and the road are very helpful and will give us information.

"But where there are less patrols bases and we have less control, the locals still like to see us, but they see the Taliban just as much, so they are afraid to help us.

"The only way to get rid of the Taliban is to get the locals to help us.

"If every time the Taliban planted an IED someone came and told us where it was they would have no chance."

He said the help of the ANA in the community was vital, adding: "It's Afghans talking to other Afghans and they can get information where nobody else can."

In one instance villagers complained that a checkpoint on a bridge was unacceptable.

They said women crossing the bridge felt as if they were being ogled.

The British were keen not to cause offence but the ANA took the criticism with a pinch of salt and said the villagers would just have to put up with it.