1 Gurkha vs. 30 Taliban: guess who didn’t stand a chance?

Sergeant Dipprasad Pun unloaded 400 rounds of ammo and 17 grenades at the Taliban. He detonated a mine. But they kept coming. So, when the grenades ran out and his weapon wouldn’t fire, what did he do? He grabbed a makeshift club and charged:

Sgt Pun told yesterday how he was on guard duty at the base near Rahim Kalay in Helmand Province on September 10 last year when he heard a digging sound in the darkness in front of him.

Grabbing two radios, a GPMG (general purpose machine gun), his SA80 rifle, a grenade launcher and an arsenal of hand-held grenades he climbed onto the rooftop and opened fire.

With rocket propelled grenades and gun fire flying over his head from all directions he defended the position for more than 15 minutes, killing three Taliban and forcing the others to flee.

At one point the diminutive soldier turned around to see a β€œhuge” Taliban fighter approaching him on the rooftop, a few feet away, having silently scaled the wall, and shot him.

While the mass of Taliban fired from an area of open ground, another crept into the compound and tried to climb the wall but he spotted him.

β€œI tried to fire my SA80 but it wouldn’t work,” he said.

β€œI don’t know if there was an obstruction or the magazine was finished.

β€œI threw my SA80 down and grabbed a sandbag but it wasn’t tied and all the sand dropped out.

β€œAs I tried to jump into the sentry post I found a metal rod from the GPMG tripod and pulled it round and hit him.”

As he ran towards the Taliban fighter he gave a shout of β€œMarchu Talai” Nepalese for β€œI’m going to kill you”.

No word on whether the brave jihadi wet himself as he ran off into the night.

Sgt. Pun was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross for his actions that night, Britain’s second-highest military honor. Somehow, I’d say he earned it.

Meanwhile, back at the Taliban camp, they’re probably still looking at each other and asking, “And they think we’re crazy?”

Moral of the story? Never, ever, tick off a Gurkha.

More at The Himalayan Times and The Blaze.

RELATED: Another Gurkha one-man-army.

(Crossposted at Public Secrets)

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