^{A SECRET funeral for the senior SBS commando killed in a raid on a Taliban bomb-making factory has been held amid tight security.}

^{The cream of the Special Forces ranks, whose identities are never revealed, paid their respects to Sergeant Andy Houltram, 33.}

^{More than 600 mourners attended the service at Dunblane Cathedral in Scotland last week.}

^{Sgt Houltram, from Cowie in Stirlingshire, began the lightening attack on the Taliban compound by fast roping from a helicopter.}

^{As he led the elite troops a fierce gunfight broke out and enemy fighters tried to flee to a safe house.}

^{While chasing a fanatic into the booby-trapped building nearby, one of Sgt Houltram's team stepped on a hidden pressure plate - triggering a series of devastating blasts.}

^{As many as five 81mm mortar shells buried in the ground around the commandos exploded simultaneously - killing Sgt Houltram. The explosions also ripped the leg off another SBS commando and wounded two of his colleagues.}

^{Sgt Houltram's death, near the town of Gereshk on August 29, was covered up by the Ministry of Defence at the time because of the sensitivity of the mission.}

^{Officials simply said "a Royal Marine died following an explosion whilst on a foot patrol".}

^{Sgt Houltram, a former ex-Royal Marine, was decorated with a Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service last year for his Special Forces work on another Afghan tour.}

^{An SBS veteran for a decade, he was "a huge character" in the Poole-based unit.}

^{A Special Boat Service source said: "Andy was a legend in the unit. A jock with a lot of charm, but also hard as nails. All the young lads used to look up to him as someone they could aim to be like with a lot of hard work.}

^{Advertisement}

^{"His death is a massive loss, and has hit us all hard."}

^{Despite the heavy casualties the SBS mission was a success.The bomb-making factory was destroyed, meaning numerous more lives could have been saved thanks to the operation.The Taliban also sustained greater losses than the SBS.}

^{A 120-strong task force from the SBS and Army unit the SAS has been dispatched to central Helmand to tackle the plague of Taliban bombs wreaking havoc among British ranks.}

^{Most of the homemade IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) are buried in roads or walls.}

^{But suicide bombers have also caused chaos as they target local people.}

^{The two Special Forces squadrons are being backed by eavesdropping experts from the Special Reconnaissance Regiment, and Paras and Marines.}

^{They are believed to have scored a series of dramatic successes recently against the network, but at a heavy price.}

^{Sgt Houltram is the third SBS hero to die in action in southern Afghanistan since 2006.}