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Royal Marine rugby tackles Taliban suicide bomber to save servicemen
A Royal Marine has told how he saved the lives of up to 30 of his fellow servicement by rugby tackling a Taliban suicide bomber.
Sgt Noel Connolly Sgt Noel Connolly and his unit were occupying an abandoned school in Afghanistan's Kandahar province when they received warning of an impending attack.
The 41-year-old said: "I was near the school when I caught a fleeting glimpse of a motorbike. I told all my lads to expect a bomber. The motorcyclist looked lost.
He turned the bike around up the track and came back. I grabbed two lads and went to intercept him. I had no idea if he was the bomber. The only way of finding out was to challenge him."
The sergeant said he then stepped into the road and ordered the man to stop in Pashtu.
He added: "He stalled the bike and fell off, then started pushing it away from us. Eventually he stopped again, straddled it and turned to face us. I closed in on him and as I got to within ten metres there was a loud crack from halfway down the bike.
"That's when I saw a small toggle switch had been fitted to his handlebars. As soon as he went for the toggle again I rushed him. I grabbed him by the front of his shirt and hauled him off."
The motorbike's frame was found to contain 154lbs of explosive. The bomber was handed to police and jailed for 18 years.
Sgt Connolly, of Manchester, and the 600 other Royal Marines of Plymouth-based 42 Commando return to Britain on Thursday.
He added of the incident: "I'm not brave. Someone had to stop him."
A Royal Marine has told how he saved the lives of up to 30 of his fellow servicement by rugby tackling a Taliban suicide bomber.
Sgt Noel Connolly Sgt Noel Connolly and his unit were occupying an abandoned school in Afghanistan's Kandahar province when they received warning of an impending attack.
The 41-year-old said: "I was near the school when I caught a fleeting glimpse of a motorbike. I told all my lads to expect a bomber. The motorcyclist looked lost.
He turned the bike around up the track and came back. I grabbed two lads and went to intercept him. I had no idea if he was the bomber. The only way of finding out was to challenge him."
The sergeant said he then stepped into the road and ordered the man to stop in Pashtu.
He added: "He stalled the bike and fell off, then started pushing it away from us. Eventually he stopped again, straddled it and turned to face us. I closed in on him and as I got to within ten metres there was a loud crack from halfway down the bike.
"That's when I saw a small toggle switch had been fitted to his handlebars. As soon as he went for the toggle again I rushed him. I grabbed him by the front of his shirt and hauled him off."
The motorbike's frame was found to contain 154lbs of explosive. The bomber was handed to police and jailed for 18 years.
Sgt Connolly, of Manchester, and the 600 other Royal Marines of Plymouth-based 42 Commando return to Britain on Thursday.
He added of the incident: "I'm not brave. Someone had to stop him."
