‘I’m still haunted by the attack in Kabul – I felt the blast and it was horrific’

Ahmad Fahim can remember the dust and chaos of Hamid Karzai International Airport as if it was yesterday. The former Paratrooper counts himself fortunate to be able to tell how a thin line of British troops plucked thousands of desperate Afghans from an uncertain fate at the hands of the ascendant Taliban. The Private, who is known by his last name, was among the first UK personnel in and last to leave after taking a frontline role in what would be the Western allies’ final act in the country.

One of the hellish scenes he witnessed came when he was just 200 metres from a suicide bomb blast that killed 13 US service personnel and around 170 Afghan civilians at the airport’s Abbey Gate. ‘I find it hard to describe the chaos on the ground at the airport,’ Fahim says. ‘Those two weeks with Operation Pitting were the most intense and challenging of my life.

‘Being there every day was far worse than what has been shown on the TV, especially with so many women and children getting caught in the mess and then the bombing. ‘I was about 200 metres away when it went off, and I got lucky. ‘I felt the blast and the aftermath was horrific.

‘I escaped physical injury but it’s still with me and seeing a scene in a film or TV programme can take me straight back.’ The decorated veteran, 38, was born in Afghanistan and served as an interpreter with the US Special Forces before joining the Paras. He left the military after Operation Pitting and now lives in London but as th.