Brit soldier in court for punching an escaping Taliban prisoner

A British soldier faces a court martial next month - for punching an escaping Taliban prisoner. 

The corporal, who cannot be named, was sent home and charged with assault after preventing the man from escaping. He has since quit the Army in disgust.

The Afghan rebel had been captured during an ambush on British forces last March - and is reported to have no interest in the trial.

A military insider called the case "disgusting" and "madness".

Patrick Mercer, a Tory MP and former Army commander, added: "We have to stop abusing our soldiers in this way."

Source: The Sun

Soldier hangs himself after seeing 5 comrades die in Afghanistan

A traumatised young soldier who saw five of his comrades die in action killed himself after becoming unable to cope with the loss, his friends have claimed.

The body of Rifleman Allan Arnold was discovered by dog walkers on 2nd May  just hours after he had been out socialising with civilian friends while on leave.

The 20-year-old, from the 2nd Battalion The Rifles, was found hanged in a copse.

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British soldier dies in Cyprus

A British soldier from 73 Engineer Regiment (Volunteers), attached to the 3 Royal Anglian Group, died in Cyprus on Tuesday 3rd May 2011.

The soldier was deployed on operations as part of Operation TOSCA, the United Nations Peacekeeping Force (UNFICYP) based in Nicosia, Cyprus. 

The soldier was taken ill and flown to a hospital in Nicosia where he died.

British Gurkhas back in Afghanistan

A search operation in an area thought to be a Taliban safe haven has been carried out by soldiers from 2nd Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles (2 RGR) in their first major operation since recently arriving in Helmand province.

Operation TORA GORGA was carried out by soldiers from 2 RGR's B Company along with members of the Afghan National Army (ANA) and Police.

They searched a series of compounds near the village of Shin Kalay in Nad 'Ali district which had been identified as insurgent 'bed-downs' and used by insurgents to launch ambushes from.

The operation began with the ISAF and Afghan forces first searching people on a nearby bridge used as a key crossing point by locals, before moving on to the compounds.

Brit soldier puts suicide bomber in headlock

A HERO soldier subdued a suspected suicide bomber with his bare hands after a high-speed desert chase.

Unarmed Pte Lee Stephens grabbed the Taliban bomb-making expert from a motorcycle and put him in a headlock.

Afterwards the modest 30-year-old said: “My muckers were getting shot at and I thought ‘I’m not having that’. It’s like the Wild West out here.”

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UK to reduce Gurkha Brigade size

KATHMANDU, 4th April - With a view to restructuring its forces and to ensure that they are sufficiently flexible and adaptable to meet the demands of an uncertain future, the British Government has announced that it is going to reduce the size of the Gurkha Brigade by 700 by 2015. 

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Scots soldiers deploy to Helmand

Hundreds of Scots soldiers have carried out their final preparations before flying out to Afghanistan.

About 500 troops from The Highlanders 4th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland (4 SCOTS) are travelling to the war-torn country to perform a ground-holding role.

The soldiers will spend six months in the Lashkar Gah region of Helmand province, taking over the position currently held by 2 SCOTS (Royal Highland Fusiliers).

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Bombs cleared from 'ghost town'

British bomb disposal experts have carried out their largest clearance of IEDs (improvised explosive devices) in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence said.

An 80-strong team cleared a "deserted ghost town", searching and clearing 75 compounds as well as miles of tracks and alleyways.

During the painstaking eight-day fingertip search of Char Coucha in Helmand the team diffused nine bombs and discovered nine ordnance caches.

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Funeral for British Para killed by IED

Pvt. Martin Bell

The funeral of the 350th British soldier to be killed in Afghanistan will take place in West Yorkshire 25th February 2011.

Pte Martin Bell, 24, from Bradford, was serving with the 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment when he died.

The Ministry of Defence said he died in an explosion after disobeying a direct order and going to the aid of another wounded soldier in Helmand province.

Pte Bell died on 25 January. The funeral service will take place at Bradford Cathedral.

The soldier was hailed a hero for his bravery by his commanding officer Lt Col Andrew Harrison who said: "He knew the risks all too well. 

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British soldiers reunited with their families

Pvt. Liam Tracey and his son, Leo

Soldiers have been reunited with their families after a six-month tour of Afghanistan.

The 99 soldiers from the 2nd Battalion The Royal Welsh were welcomed home to their barracks in Tidworth, Wiltshire, by more than 300 family and friends.

The troops from B Company - known as Rorke's Drift Company - spent the last six months in Helmand and Kandahar Provinces, where they have been holding ground and rebuilding vital communications routes. It marks the end of two years of operations for the battalion, first deployed to Afghanistan in February 2009.

In the 24 months since then three members of the battalion have lost their lives and many more have been wounded.

In March 2009, Lance Corporal Christopher Harkett, 22, became the 150th British serviceman to die in the country since 2001. Five months later his colleague, Private Richard Hunt, 21, became the 200th. Private James Prosser, 21, was killed in September 2009.

Brit soldier shot 5 times and lives

Guardsman Ben Ralph

A brave soldier looked like a "human teabag" after being shot FIVE TIMES in a battle with the Taliban.

Bullets hit Guardsman Ben Ralph, 20, in the back and side but he was saved by his body armour.

Two more rounds lodged in his ammunition pouches and another tore through his trousers.

Ben of 2 Company, 1st Battalion, Irish Guards, emerged without a scratch.

Read full story at The Sun

Baby-face 'Ninja' foils bombers in Afghanistan

Pvt. Grant Barrow, 3 PARA

A TEENAGE trooper who rooted out five Taliban bombs in Afghanistan has been dubbed a "baby face ninja" by proud comrades.

Private Grant Barrow is 18 years old but his mates reckon he looks more like TWELVE. 

Yet despite his tender years and child-like face, 3 Para soldier Grant has the most dangerous job in his unit - looking for bombs hidden by the Taliban in the hope of killing Our Boys. 

Read full story at The Sun

British soldier hunts down insurgent across minefield

An insurgent bomber, caught red-handed laying deadly improvised explosive devices, is facing a life of imprisonment after a British soldier from the 1st Battalion Irish Guards gave chase across a minefield to catch him.

The insurgent, who could have caused the deaths of many troops or Afghan civilians, is facing Afghan justice thanks to Guardsman Lewis Wilby's heroic actions.

Despite being weighed down with more than 60lbs (27kg) of kit, the 26-year-old Irish Guardsman outran the bomber, sprinting across uncleared ground where IEDs were known to have been laid, and caught him as he tried desperately to hide out in a local villager's compound.

Read full story at MOD Defence News

Daddy it's time to come home...

A HERO due back from Afghanistan was killed defusing a Taliban bomb - hours after his little boy phoned to remind him: "Daddy, it's time to come home.

Read full story at The Sun

Teenage soldier discovers bomb factory in Afghanistan

A teenage British soldier saved the lives of dozens of his comrades when he discovered hidden cache of ten Taliban bombs during a patrol in Helmand.   

Ranger Gavin Edgar, 19, who only joined the Army last year and is on his first operational tour, discovered the improvised explosive devices hidden beneath a large hay bale in the area of Nad e'Ali in central Helmand.

British Ranger killed has been named

British Ranger killed has been named

British Para killed by IED - named

British Para killed by IED - name