A new book about a "black op" operation during the 2003 Iraq war has been released, telling the story of a reconnaissance team that parachuted behind enemy lines.

Former British Army Captain David Blakeley told Today presenter Sarah Montague how his nine-man team quickly discovered that the supposedly quiet Nasiriyah area was in actual fact a "hornet's nest" of enemy activity.

When he called for promised air support, he said, he was informed that none was available, effectively branding the Pathfinder Platoon - in his words - "expendable".

He described their 80km journey back to the front line as a fight to get out alive, adding that the accurate intelligence the platoon gathered of the whereabouts of some 2000 enemy troops meant the advance to Baghdad was carried out "with far fewer casualties".

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