400 ROUNDS, 17 GRENADES & 30 ENEMIES

Soldier Single-Handedly Beats Back Taliban Barrage.


Last summer, a single Gurkha soldier of the British forces single-handedly beat back a Taliban attack of 30 fighters in Afghanistan with just a chunk of metal and a sandbag after running out of ammunition. Sgt. Pun's extraordinary courage in Helmand province earned him the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross at a special ceremony in London:





Facing a surprise attack at a Afghanistan checkpoint, Sergeant Dipprasad Pun, 31, hoisted a 50lb machine gun off its mount to blast at the enemy.

When they kept coming, he launched 17 grenades and picked up an SA80 assault rifle, which jammed on him.

Then he threw the machine gun's metal tripod at his attackers, before fending them off with a sandbag while yelling in Nepali: "I will kill you!"

With nothing left to hand, the exhausted hero finally managed to fire off a Claymore mine, and the blast sent the enemy scattering.

Pun's medal citation said his actions saved the lives of three comrades and prevented the key military position he was guarding from being overrun.

"I was really scared but as soon as I opened fire that was gone. I knew I had to kill them.

"I thought they were going to kill me after a couple of minutes, definitely. Looking back at it, I realise I'm a very lucky guy, a survivor. It is great to get this award. I am very happy."

The sergeant in the Royal Gurkha Rifles told how he was on night-time sentry duty on September 17 last year when he discovered insurgents laying an improvised explosive device at the checkpoint.

He was surrounded and the enemy opened fire with rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and AK47s.

As the 20-minute battle raged, Sgt Pun raced onto a wall to remove the .50 cal machine gun from its mount so he could lower it enough to aim at the attackers below.

At one point he turned to find a "huge" militant standing behind him ready to pounce and Sgt Pun fired a final machine gun round at him.

He also fired his SA80 assault rifle, but the weapon failed just as another Taliban crept up on him. He said: "I threw it away and grabbed a sandbag to hit him but all the sand poured away. I had nothing left. Suddenly I found the metal rod and hit him with it.

"I threw it at him yelling in Nepali 'I will kill you' and he fell down. They were very determined. They kept coming and coming. In the end I was nearly collapsed."

Sgt. Pun's actions saved the lives of three comrades and prevented the key military position he was guarding from being overrun.


The Conspicuous Gallantry Cross is just one level below the UK's top military honor, the Victoria Cross.









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