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"The Poachers" catch a big Mahdi Army fish
Their 2nd Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment, which recruits from the county, are half-way through a seven-month deployment in Iraq. Nicknamed The Poachers, they are part of 20th Armoured Brigade with some 8,000 British troops stationed in southern Iraq. In perhaps the greatest breakthrough in recent months, The Poachers led two daring operations, arresting terrorist Sajid Badir, leader of the Shiite-based Mahdi Army, who are loyal to the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. He was believed to be responsible for a number of terrorist attacks on British troops and had been on their wanted list for a long while. Highlighting the dangers of their work, a colleague from the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment was killed in clashes with gunmen during the operation. And the following day, C Company was scrambled again to an area of the city where terrorists had launched retaliatory mortar attacks. Three people were arrested and more than two tons of weapons and explosives were seized. In what is thought to have been the largest seizure since British troops have been based in southern Iraq, the haul included a range of deadly weapons. Special forces soldiers had blasted a hole in the wall for the Royal Anglians to enter the building and make the arrests. The sheer scale of the cache took the soldiers by surprise. The weapons were made safe and catalogued, which meant the raid ran into dangerous daylight hours. Once word got round in Basra, The Poachers came under attack themselves. The Royal Anglians received incoming fire from rocket-propelled grenades, mortar rounds and small arms as they dealt with suspects and the explosives. Once The Poachers returned fire supported by Warrior armoured personnel carriers, they returned to base. As one soldier put it: "When The Warriors (armoured personnel carriers] opened up with their chain guns, there wasn't much left of the building from where they were firing at us from." The haul included home-made rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, pistols, hand grenades, mortars, fuses, rockets, timers, charges, mines and mobile phone detonators, as well as important intelligence documents. There was also a number of IEDs improvised explosive devices made to look like rocks which are left by the roads patrolled by British troops. An attack with one of these weapons, claimed the lives of two members of C Company early on in their tour of Basra. Privates Adam Morris, 19, from Leicester, and Joseva Lewaicei, 25, from Fiji, died on May 13 when a device exploded near their armoured Land Rover while they were on a routine patrol outside Basra. The riflemen, from the 2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, died from their injuries in the blast from what was thought to be a roadside IED. Despite the dangers and being on constant 30-minute alert to move, the recruits of C Company still believe they have what could be considered one of the best jobs in Basra. As reserve company for 20th Armoured Brigade, they are frequently called upon to arrest and search for terrorist cells. Lt Colonel Des O'Driscoll, aged 42, is the commanding officers of the five companies and up to 600 recruits of the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Anglian Regiment, who are currently working with forces from the multi-national division. He said: "We've had some important successes. I'm delighted for them as it's great they have one of the key jobs in the battalion. "They are one of the main companies involved in dedicated operations to search and arrest anti-Iraqi forces and terrorists in Basra." The operation's success was sadly marred by the death of Corporal John Johnston Cosby, 27, of the Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry. He had been working alongside the Royal Anglians to "apprehend the key terrorist leader and accomplice" when he was shot dead. His death brought the total of British soldiers killed to 114. Basra is Iraq's second city, predominantly Sunni, and is vital to rebuilding the country due to its oil reserves and deep water port at Um Quasar. Posted by: BrerRabbit 2006-07-31 |
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