The Killing Zone

Book excerpt: On a tour of duty in the Helmand River Valley, the Grenadier Guards faced the toughest challenge of their lives... Carrying out patrols in the most fiercely contested land in Afghanistan the Guards were under fire almost constantly. The summer of 2007 saw some of the most frequent and intense combat yet, beyond what anyone could have predicted. Based in isolated forward operating bases their nearest reinforcements were often miles away, down a track strewn with deadly roadside bombs. The Killing Zone is an action-packed and authentic insight into the real Afghanistan. This is what it’s like to deliberately draw fire on your own position so that your mates can escape an ambush, to experience the adrenaline rush of being the first in to clear a Taliban compound, and to rely on skill, loyalty and quick-thinking to survive in one of the most dangerous places on earth.