Gurkha soldiers refused to leave a dead comrade behind enemy lines even though they knew they would face 'extreme fire' from Taliban forces.

The first accounts of the courageous recovery of the body of the first Gurkha killed in Afghanistan can be revealed today as British troops continue to defend the strategic former Taliban stronghold of Musa Qala in Helmand province.

Braving withering fire from fortified Taliban positions, men from the 2nd Battalion, the Royal Gurkha Rifles, located the body of Rifleman Yubraj Rai and then carried it more than 100m across open ground.

In previous years the fighting in Helmand has subsided in November, but the latest dispatches from the region reveal concerted resistance from the Taliban forces. Rai, who had been in Afghanistan for only two weeks, was shot during an operation to clear the southern districts of Musa Qala after intelligence revealed that the Taliban had consolidated their forces almost a year after British troops seized control of the town.

During the operation earlier this month, a Gurkha platoon was ambushed on a stretch of open ground. Amid the chaos, Rai was hit almost immediately.

Colleagues initially believed that the 28-year-old was just diving for cover. But after he realised Rai had been hit, Lieutenant Oli Cochrane began planning to rescue his body, but suddenly lost all radio contact as a bullet hit his radio. Further rounds then pierced his rucksack.

As Taliban fighters found their range, Captain Gajendera Angdembe, Rifleman Dhan Gurung and Rifleman Manju Gurung ran 100m across open ground to retrieve Rai's body.

Last week Manju Gurung described how bullets were 'kicking up dust around their feet'. So intense was the weight of fire being directed at the Gurkhas that Dhan Gurung was forced to use Rai's weapon as well as his own. 'At the time it seemed impossible to evacuate Yubraj. While on the open field I thought we would not come back alive, thank God we are here. I felt helpless not being able to save Yubraj,' he said.

Cochrane added: 'They showed courage, refusing to leave an injured man behind. The boys acted with immense bravery and with disregard for their own lives as they moved through open ground under fire to recover the casualty.'

The battle continued to rage for another six hours. The Gurkhas were later joined by Warrior armoured vehicles which pushed the Taliban 2km back in skirmishes that went on throughout the night and into the following morning. Still enduring fierce enemy resistance, British troops inside the Warriors cleared 10 Taliban-occupied compounds, discovering a cache of explosives and weapons.

Captain Kit Kyte said: 'Despite the heavy weight of fire from the enemy, we were able to dismount [from the Warriors] and clear a lot of compounds at very close quarters.' Officers said the mission had successfully cleared a route and up to 50 civilian homes that British forces hope will be reoccupied by local people. 'Frankly, we can carry on killing the enemy and they can carry on trying to kill us for as long as they like, but we're not achieving anything,' said Lieutenant-Colonel Chris Darby, commanding officer of 2nd Battalion.

Details also emerged last week of how Colour Sergeant Krishnabahadur Dura, 36, was killed near Musa Qala after a roadside bomb tore through his 25-ton Warrior.

Last week more than 2,000 people gathered in Parliament Square in London in support of 2,000 Gurkha veterans fighting for the right to live in the UK. In the wake of a High Court ruling, the government is expected this month to reveal whether it will grant residence to Gurkhas who retired before 1997.