New helmets 'save' three NI soldiers in Helmand (original) (raw)

New British army combat helmets have helped to save the lives of three Northern Irish soldiers in Afghanistan, the MoD has said.

Rangers Silbert Wilson and Alan Hawthorne and Corporal Tommy Creighton were uninjured after bullets struck their helmets in Helmand Province.

All three are serving with the 1st battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment.

The "Mark 7" combat helmet came into service earlier this year.

Last month, Ranger Ryan Boyd of the RIR, credited the Army's new Osprey body armour for saving his life in Helmand.

He was shot in the side, but the bullet went into the metal plates in his armour instead of his body.