Dipprasad Pun: The Lone Gurkha Who Fought Off 30 Taliban

The Royal Gurkha Rifles soldier defended a Helmand checkpoint alone. By dawn the attackers were gone, and the sentry who held the line was standing at his post.

by Jose Campos

At first light outside the British patrol base near Babaji, the ground told the story of the night before. Spent brass littered the checkpoint floor, witnesses said. Grenade pins lay scattered in the dust around the fighting position. The Hesco barriers were pocked with bullet strikes and scarred by rocket blasts.