East Anglian troops have seized control of a former Taliban village in Afghanistan's notorious Helmand province.Soldiers from the 1st Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment conducted the offensive as part of Operation Moshtarak - the high profile campaign to push insurgents out of the war-torn region.

East Anglian troops have seized control of a former Taliban village in Afghanistan's notorious Helmand province.

Soldiers from the 1st Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment conducted the offensive as part of Operation Moshtarak - the high profile campaign to push insurgents out of the war-torn region.

The men from C Company - currently living at the Paraang forward operating base near Nad-e 'Ali - have faced fierce fighting since arriving in Afghanistan in October.

But commanding officer Lt Col James Woodham MC said the latest operation, in which they took control of the village Caowshal-Kalay from insurgents, would help secure the area.

Lt Col Woodham added: “This has allowed us to expand our area of operation to a new village and it should be regarded as a real success. This is an area where we have been really up against it and have been involved in fighting the Taliban on an almost daily basis.

“But this operation should help change that dynamic by allowing us to root out insurgents, leading to much less kinetic activity in the future.

“Our job now is to convince villagers that we can maintain this level of security, enabling them to rebuild their lives.”

Troops from 1st Royal Anglian, nicknamed the Vikings, are currently based at Nad-e 'Ali along with Musa Qala and Gereshk further north. Those in Nad-e 'Ali have seen some of the fiercest fighting and it is here that Pte Robert Hayes and L/Cpl Adam Drane were killed.

Operation Moshtarak is a joint Nato and Afghan military operation aimed at pushing Taliban fighters from their strongholds in Helmand province. This includes a major offensive on Marjah, a town regarded as the centre for many of the insurgent activities.