GRENADE ATTACK KILLS 30 JIHADIS
‘Great Escape’ Ian’s tears
ED GLEAVE A FORMER soldier broke down as he recalled his role in one of the toughest battles in Afghanistan.
Staff Sergeant Ian Wornham, pictured, wept as he spoke for the first time about the horror of Musa Qala.
He was among 88 soldiers who survived against all odds for two months at a remote Helmand outpost in 2006. In one of the most brutal offensives during the campaign in Afghanistan, they fought off 500 Taliban soldiers with little equipment or manpower.
Hero Ian, who was a radio operator, said: “It’s good to have this opportunity. It’ll probably get rid of a lot of my demons talking about it again. “I’ve never really spoken about it…how close we all were to death.
“And now, 10 years later, thinking about how I did feel…relief doesn’t really cover half of it. It’s a massive weight off your shoulders to be home and to be safe.”
A landmark documentary for Channel 4 is set to tell the shocking story of Musa Qala for the first time. The lads, known as Easy Company, were in severe danger within hours of arriving at the compound.
“I’d never encountered fighting like that. It was very intense. And it was 360 degrees,” recalled Ian.
“It wasn’t one direction. They were attacking from all sides all the time.” Heroes of Helmand: The British Army’s Great Escape is on Tuesday at 9pm on Channel 4. SAS troops killed at least 30 Isis fanatics by blitzing a convoy with grenades and machine-gun fire.
The soldiers inflicted what is thought to be the jihadis’ biggest loss of life in a single incident.
They destroyed 20 vehicles using automatic launchers to hit the convoy with an astonishing 500 grenades.
The troops targeted the heavily armed vehicles escorting petrol tankers into Isis territory in Syria after spotting them by chance.
All the jihadis were killed and the tankers – containing thousands of gallons of fuel – went up in flames.
An insider said: “The attack was not planned. The SAS troops just happened to be in the area working alongside some Kurdish rebels at the time the convoy appeared.
“It was an opportunistic attack. The guys really lived up to the motto of Who Dares Wins.”
It is understood the troops leapt into action after spotting the convoy heading towards them.
They quickly moved their Al-Thalab long-range patrol vehicles off the road and on to high ground overlooking its route.
Then the SAS waited until the vehicles came into range before opening fire with MK-19 automatic grenade launchers, which can deliver 60 bombs a minute at a range of up to one mile.
The source continued: “The SAS took PATRICK WILLIAMS out the first vehicle in the convoy using a Javelin guided missile. It took a direct hit and burst into flames. Two cars behind crashed into the wreckage blocking the road. “The SAS troops also destroyed the last vehicle in the convoy so that there was no escape for the others.” To make sure no jihadis got away, the special forces soldiers opened fire with .50 calibre machine guns, which can cut a man in half from a mile away. Our source said: “It was like a turkey shoot. The grenades ripped into the vehicles, exploding on impact. “The terrorists dismounted from their vehicles and began to put up a bit of a fight but their resistance didn’t last long. “The grenade launcher is one of the most powerful pieces of equipment in the SAS arsenal. “It’s what they call a ‘force multiplier’. The Isis fighters tried to hide behind their cars but the .50 cals simply shredded them. “They were firing armour piercing rounds which went straight through the vehicles.” The SAS patrol withdrew when the jihadis stopped firing. It is estimated at least 30 terrorists were killed. Up to 200 British special forces troops are believed to be in Syria, operating from bases on the Jordanian border.