Hundreds of British troops launch Operation Black Prince in fresh surge to clear Taliban

Talking tactics: Troops conducting final planning preparations for Operation TOR SHEZADA (Black Prince)

British troops launched a massive push against Taliban insurgents yesterday.

In the biggest offensive of the summer, hundreds set out by land and air on Operation Tor Shezada - Black Prince - before dawn.

Led by 1st Battalion, The Duke Of Lancaster's Regiment, the operation aims to seize the rebel-held town of Saidabad in Nad-e Ali district in southern Helmand Province.






The operation will see British forces along with their Afghan partners clearing insurgents from Sayedebad to the south of Nad e Ali in Helmand Province

ISAF troops meet local children in the Nad e Ali area during Operation Black Prince in central Helmand, Afghanistan

It is a continuation of Operation Moshtarak which involved 15,000 Nato and Afghan troops earlier this year.

As many as 180 insurgents are believed to be holed up in the town, making bombs and launching attacks on allied troops.
Although smaller than previous operations in this area, the push aims to exile the fighters and restore government rule.

But the area is littered with IED roadside bombs which have killed and maimed dozens of soldiers. The number of British military personnel killed on operations in Afghanistan since 2001 stands at 325.

Operation Tor Shezada is only possible because extra British forces have been brought in to Afghanistan.
Last night Lieutenant Colonel James Carr-Smith, spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said: 'During the early hours, the joint Isaf and Afghan Operation Tor Shezada launched successfully.

'Commanders on the ground say it is progressing according to plan.'

Among the first troops to go in was the Brigade Reconnaissance Force, a small elite unit which dropped behind enemy lines under cover of darkness.

The operation will see British forces working alongside the Afghan army.

Lt Col Carr-Smith said: 'Our intent is to further dislocate insurgents and deny them a base from which to attack.

'In time, the operation will enable the Afghan government to begin development projects in the area.'
Sayedebad sits between Nad-e Ali and Marjah in central Helmand, with a small community of around 6,000 Afghans, mostly from Pashtun Ishaqzai and Hazara backgrounds.

The Trikh Zabur canal runs to the south of the area, with a crossing point which allows movement between Nad-e Ali and Marjah.

Improved security around this important crossing point will increase freedom of movement for locals.

Lieutenant Colonel Fraser Lawrence, commander of the 1st Battalion, Duke of Lancaster's Regiment Battlegroup, troops will try to 'steal' Saidabad but are 'prepared to fight for it'.

He added: 'We have scored major successes in the north and centre of the district, driving out the insurgents from the major.

'Now we need to make sure that security is extended to every resident of Nad-e Ali.'

■ July was the deadliest month for U.S. troops in the nine-year Afghan war.

The deaths of three soldiers in two separate bomb blasts yesterday took the month's total to 63, three more than in June. The total of U.S. dead in Afghanistan is 1,976.