Dodging the IED blast

Sky News/Fox New:

The moment a U.S. Marine ran to safety as an explosion killed two of his comrades in Afghanistan was caught on camera.

The Improvised Explosive Device (IED) killed two members of the U.S. 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade instantly on Monday, shredding their armour and throwing their bodies into a canal.

But Sergeant Anthony Zabala, 31, had a lucky escape.

"I turned away and felt rocks in the air as they came over my back," he said. "That was it."

The troops, part of a foot patrol, had been advancing painstakingly with metal detectors and bare hands to defuse bombs planted on a rough track in Garmsir district, Helmand Province.

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The photo was distributed by AFP. The Marine's story of what he felt is remarkably similar to what I felt when I was wounded in a mortar attack in Vietnam. I can still remember the shrapnel hitting my flak jacket and helmet. The pieces that hit my arms and legs I did not notice until I saw the bleeding although I did feel the sting when they hit I just thought it was rocks blown by a helicopter overhead.

Sergeant Zebala may become an iconic figure because of the photo, but his service to this country is of greater importance and we cheer his survival to fight another day.