Commissions

Greenlit: Surrounded by the Taliban, Channel 4

Surrounded by the Taliban (1 x 60′) – In Afghanistan, in 2006, a small Band of Brothers called Easy Company fought one of the most intense battles in British military history. It happened in a remote desert town called Musa Qala. For more than fifty days they were trapped in a small compound, outgunned, outnumbered, and at the mercy of the Taliban. If the insurgents broke in, the men inside would be massacred.

Incredibly, this is a story that’s never been told in full before but for the first time ex-soldiers who fought at Musa Qala have come forward. They want the truth to be heard – and some filmed what happened there on their own cameras.

It’s a shocking story that began in the spring of 2006, when 3,500 British soldiers were sent to Helmand Province in Southern Afghanistan, part of a NATO mission to help bring security and stability to the region. It was supposed to be a peaceful mission. But the British government underestimated the backlash the arrival of British troops would bring. Within weeks, they were under siege in isolated outposts across Helmand Province, and none was more isolated than Musa Qala.

Here, the 88 Paras and Royal Irishmen who were part of Easy Company, were surrounded by over 200 insurgents, who did everything they could to break into the Afghan government compound the British had been sent to defend.

First, they tried to over-run the compound in a series of full frontal attacks, using machine guns and rocket propelled grenades. At times, they got so close to breaking in, they were actually able to throw grenades over the walls of the compound.

Then, because they were taking so many casualties, the Taliban changed their tactics, and began attacking Easy Company at long range, with mortars and rockets. Such was the intensity of the attacks that even some of the Paras reached breaking point.

Then, when 500 new Taliban fighters appeared, it looked like the battle would be lost. Inside the compound, the men prepared for the worst.
At the end of the battle, three British soldiers had lost their lives and 12 were wounded. But if it wasn’t for the bravery of the men, it could have been a lot worse.

During the 56 days they were there, Easy Company fired a quarter of all the ammunition used by the British Army in the whole of 2006. And the compound remained secure until the day they left it. It’s a story of incredible courage that everyone should know.

Platform: Channel 4

Producer: Testimony Films

TX: August 2016

Source: Channel 4 press release