TERRITORIAL ARMY soldiers from the region who secured a Nato headquarters in the aftermath of a suicide bombing in Afghanistan were honoured yesterday.

The men from the Territorial Army 5th Battalion Royal Regiment of Fusiliers were among soldiers guarding the International Security Assistance Force headquarters in Kabul when it was attacked on August 15.

A car bomb was driven up to the front gates and detonated, injuring Macedonian Nato guards and killing several Afghan civilians.

Warrant Officer Tim Wilkinson, from North Shields, Tyneside, was on patrol at the time.

The married father-of-two said: “I was showing the new guy who was taking over the camp around when there was a loud explosion at the front gate, 200 metres away, of an extremely powerful bomb.

“We immediately grabbed our kit and ran down to the front gate where the Macedonian guys who had been guarding it were all a bit stunned, so we took over.”

At a ceremony yesterday at Alnwick Castle, Northumberland, the 34 soldiers were presented with their Afghanistan campaign medals for six months’ operational service by the Duke of Northumberland.

Lieutenant Phil Dunn, from Sunderland, said: “Kabul is a city of four million people where there is not much idea of town planning, so you get mud buildings and tiny twisting alleyways next to huge palaces and Government buildings, and the roads are absolute chaos,” he said.

“This makes it a difficult job to see whether there is something out of the usual going on.”

Rifleman Roland Smalley, 32, from Bowburn, and Sergeant Shaun Haley, 47, from Gilesgate, both near Durham City were part of 5 RRF Delta Platoon.

Rfn Smalley was on his second operational tour, having previously served in Iraq in 2003.

“Afghanistan was very different from Iraq,” he said.

“Most of the patrols were dangerous – there was danger every minute you were out.

My family were obviously worried, but it helped that we had internet access in our rooms so we could easily contact home, which was great.”