Soldiers from The Parachute Regiment on operational deployment in Zabul Province, Afghanistan, in 2008

Digital photograph by Sergeant Ian Houlding, Royal Logistic Corps, 2008.

In 2008 the 3rd Battalion of The Parachute Regiment, part of 16 Air Assault Brigade, were deployed to the mountainous province of Zabul, near the border with Pakistan.

The soldier in the foreground is armed with an SA80 with an under-slung grenade launcher; the soldier behind has a slung Light Anti-Structures missile as well as his SA80 rifle. Both weapons provide additional firepower to airborne forces on the ground.