The contact in which he died eventually ended with du Plooy and two other Rhodesians being wounded and a further Rhodesian soldier, Corporal Jannie de Beer, being killed.
Mr Houghton said the depot saw a large number of men and women serve there during the war, with about 300 permanent staff servicing the horses, soldiers and training, and a further 5,000 soldiers passing through the depot en route to France.
Military and medical sources said 18 soldiers and a Fajr Libya fighter were killed in Sirte, and a further four soldiers were killed in al-Sidra.
A further four soldiers were wounded in the attack.
A further 200 soldiers guarded the public transport system.
He said a further 21 soldiers were freed the day before.
A further 35 soldiers are still on trial for offences including mutiny, assault, absconding and disorderly behaviour.
In January this year, a further 26 soldiers were killed when the jihadists attacked a military base, a police checkpoint and a military hotel.
The United States sent a hospital ship and numerous rescue teams, and ordered 2,000 marines to the country while putting a further 8,000 soldiers in readiness.
Later in the day, three suicide bombers drove cars packed with explosives into the gate of the Anbar Operation Command, the military headquarters for Anbar province, killing a further five soldiers and wounding 12.
A further three soldiers were killed outright, with a fourth dying later at Camp Bastion.
