Kent News - Army general praises Kent soldiers' Afghan action

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Army general praises Kent soldiers' Afghan action

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PWRR troops in Afghanistan

A senior Army officer has praised soldiers from Kent’s county regiment who have just returned from Afghanistan.

A national newspaper reported last week that a small group of troops serving with the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment (PWRR) – The Tigers - fought in one of the most savage sieges seen since the American-led invasion of the country seven years ago.

Around 30 soldiers at Roshan Tower, near the key town of Musa Qala, including a mortar section from the Canterbury-based Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (5 Scots) were attacked by some 400 Taliban insurgents, it was claimed.

Writing in The Sun, former SAS soldier Andy McNab likened the scenes to the Rorke’s Drift attack in 1879 when 139 soldiers defeated more than 4,000 Zulu warriors.

He described how the British garrison was attacked for nine days and nights by rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and AK47s - yet they suffered just one casualty from shrapnel wounds.

Major General Paul Newton CBE, PWRR’s colonel, said: “Naturally, I was pleased but not surprised to read in The Sun about the courage, determination and professionalism of our PWRR soldiers in combat in Afghanistan.

“They need and they appreciate this kind of public support. It shows the country, and the communities they come from, are right behind them.”

He added: “We can do with a few more good men not behind them, but out there serving in the regiment alongside them.

“Kent has always produced superb fighting infantry soldiers and today’s Tigers are out in Afghanistan and Iraq right now doing a vital job for the nation.”

KOS Media journalist Jamie McGinnes visited the soldiers at Roshan Tower last month.

POSTED: 09/09/2008 09:57:45

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