Dutch KCT commandos identifying a Taliban spotter for their mortar teams to engage. Peter Ter Velde photo.
by ANDREW BALCOMBE
It was midday in November when Dutch NOS Journal reporter Peter Ter Velde and his cameraman landed in Tarin Kowt, in southern Afghanistan’s Uruzgan province. Although they had been traveling for two days, Task Force 55 was already assembled and gave them half an hour to get ready.
The reporters were embedded with the Dutch Special Forces Task Force 55, made up of Korps Kommandos (KCT) supported by Royal Dutch Marines and Afghan National Police (ANP).
The task force’s mission was to scout a valley outside Uruzgan province to see how strong the Taliban presence was. The valley was a gray area: Australian and U.S. Special Forces had patrolled the high ground above it just weeks before, but no coalition forces had ever entered it from below.
The valley was close to an important route for NATO convoys that regularly came under attack. NATO also suspected a Taliban arms cache was hidden in a village within the valley.
The task force convoy consisted of several Mercedes Benz 11kN soft-tops plus Bushmasters and soft-skinned pick-ups manned by an ANP special unit. After four hours of driving, the patrol set up camp for the night and the temperature quickly fell below zero. The next day, they set off again towards the valley, stopping only to deal with an anti-tank mine on the road ahead. An explosive charge disarmed it.
The second halt came on the outskirts of the valley when the task force discovered enemy spotters on the high ground. It was not long before a Russian mortar round came over their heads. Using binoculars, members of the KCT identified where the fire was being directed from — over five kilometers away — and the Dutch replied with 81-millimeter mortars, engaging the targets at their maximum range. A hit was observed and the incoming fire stopped.
Deeper inside the valley, the patrol came to a small village.
There had been intelligence indicating that a house in the village was being used by the Taliban to store weapons and ammunition. Taliban small-arms fire started again and dozens of villagers fled south. A Bushmaster moved forward and returned fire with its mounted .50-caliber machine gun. The Taliban were on the opposite side of the valley at a range of one or two kilometers. Other vehicles and mortar teams joined the fight.
The Dutch decided to call in air support. A flight of four F/A-18 fighter-bombers and an armed drone had been in holding patterns overhead. The drone engaged with a Hellfire missile, killing at least three Taliban inside a house. By the time the firefight had subsided, the Dutch had fired more than 60 mortar rounds. A Bushmaster had sustained several hits.
It was time to enter the village.
The reporters joined a team consisting of the Dutch Marine Special Forces and ANP, which set off on foot into the valley from the high ground above. After two hours they entered the village and searched for any remaining Taliban. After finding no sign, a larger contingent with vehicles arrived and set up a defensive perimeter. That night, another force of KCT stayed on the high ground above the village.
The next morning the Marines and ANP searched the house suspected of hiding an arms cache. The only weapon they found was an old Lee Enfield .303 bolt-action rifle, which they chose to leave. Soon after, the KCT force on the high ground began receiving enemy fire again. The order came for a withdrawal from the village. After assembling on the high ground, the task force made its way back to Tarin Kowt.
Ter Velde said the mission established that there was an enemy defensive line in the valley. Secondly, it provided a decoy for a large NATO convoy that was traveling near the valley while the task force engaged the Taliban. Thirdly, it provided information on the enemy’s strength in the area. Three enemy fighters were confirmed killed while Task Force 55 sustained no casualties.
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[...] deaths could not have come at a worse time for the Dutch. The Dutch government has collapsed as the major parties fight over whether to continue supporting [...]
An interesting read.
I’m curious about the use of mortars in this case; a weapon that doesn’t get much discussion (seems to me anyway).
I like the explanation about the mission’s results at the end: simply put.