Warrant Officer Sandy Little with the seized weapons cache. Ministry of Defence photo.

The operation was launched in the early hours of Sunday, March 18, in the Al Hyyaniyah district after Multi-National Forces received information about a number of individuals suspected of involvement in attacks against Coalition and Iraqi forces.

Under cover of darkness, about 300 troops from the 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment Battle Group raided a house and conducted a search. No individuals were apprehended but two rocket propelled grenades and a number of components for making roadside bombs were found.

A nearby vehicle was also searched and a very substantial haul of weapons recovered, including a heavy machine gun, seven rockets, another rocket propelled grenade and launcher, 22 hand grenades, two anti-vehicle mines, over 5kg of explosives, more than 300 rounds of small arms fire and various other quantities of weapon-making equipment.

Staff Sgt. Mark 'Taff' Teesdale was part of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team which secured the explosives and made them safe.

"It was a seriously long night but also a hugely satisfying one. We seized a very substantial cache of weapons including bomb-making equipment and rockets. Every piece of kit that is taken off the streets is a life potentially saved so, in that respect, it was a good night's work,” Teesdale said.

Warrant Officer 1st Class Sandy Little, also of the Joint Force EOD Group, is one of three experts among the British forces specially trained in the dangerous trade of deactivating roadside bombs. 

"This was a very good day at the office. To take this amount of ordnance out of circulation is good news, not just for Coalition forces but for the Iraqi people as well. And from a personal perspective this might mean one or two less roadside bombs that I will have to deal with in the future,” Little said.

Major David Gell, the UK military spokesman in southern Iraq, explained the importance of this latest success.

"Yet again British soldiers have demonstrated the ability to react quickly to keep the criminals and rogue militia on the back foot. Responding swiftly to information received, this significant find for the 2 LANCS Battle Group will help to save the lives of innocent Iraqis and Multi-National Forces,” Gell said.