Black Watch raids bomb factories

Soldiers from the Black Watch were flown in by helicopter

Bomb-making factories in Afghanistan have been destroyed during a raid involving the Black Watch.

The Ministry of Defence said soldiers from 3rd Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Scotland, were caught up in "intense fire fights" during the operation.

Black Watch, Royal Artillery, Afghan soldiers and Canadian explosives experts attacked a network of tunnels in Howz-e-Maded in the Zhari district.

A British soldier was injured by an explosive device in the raid.

Soldiers were flown to the area in three waves of six Chinook transport helicopters.

Advance on foot

The MoD said an "Aladdin's cave" of improvised explosives devices (IED), medical supplies and communications equipment were found.

Two motorbikes rigged up for suicide bomb attacks were also uncovered.

Lance Cpl Scott Mackie, from Crail, in Fife, said the attack involved an advance on foot through water courses known as wadis.

He said: "We spent most of the time up to our waists in mud and water as we moved through the wadi systems avoiding the dozens of IEDs laid to our flanks, designed to halt us in our tracks."

The raid comes just weeks after the funerals for two men from the Fort George-based battalion.

A service was held for Sgt Stuart "Gus" Millar, 40, at the historic fort, near Inverness, while the funeral for Pte Kevin Elliott, 24, took place in his home city Dundee.