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| Afghanistan |
| Afghan, NATO troops try to seize Taliban-held town |
| 2008-07-24 |
| Afghan security forces and NATO-led forces were engaged in a joint operation on Thursday to retake a remote town southwest of Kabul, the NATO force said. Taliban militants captured the local government headquarters of the remote Ajristan district of Ghazni late on Sunday, part of a campaign of seizing remote outposts and forcing thinly spread security forces to respond in a game of cat-and-mouse. The counter-operation began on Wednesday with an air strike on insurgents armed with AK-47 assault rifles and rocket propelled grenades inside the village of Ajristan, the NATO force said. "Several insurgents have been killed and wounded," it said in a statement. "Afghan troops are stationed near Ajristan and are conducting surveillance operations to locate any Taliban hideouts so air strikes can be carried out," provincial Police Chief Khan Mohammad Mujahid told Rooters. Taliban insurgents seized the remote town of Rashidan in Ghazni in May, patrolling the streets for some hours before withdrawing ahead of a government operation to retake it. Ghazni province is only a two-hour drive southwest from the capital, Kabul, and while not as unstable as southern provinces such as Kandahar or Helmand, the villages around the historic city of Ghazni have seen an upsurge of Taliban activity in the past two years. |
| Posted by:anonymous5089 |
| #5 If Napalm was in play, a rush to the hills wouldn't be a good idea. |
| Posted by: Flemble Henbane3490 2008-07-24 16:23 |
| #4 I think we should have long ago issue out very simple commo devices, just a small box with a button on it. Then hand them out everywhere with instructions to hide the device, and that if the Taliban takes their town, to push the button, then hide it again. And if NATO catches or kills any Taliban, whoever's box it was that alerted NATO discreetly gets money. No Taliban, no money. If the Taliban want to play cat and mouse, this is the way to do it. Let the Afghan army guys be the ones who hand out the boxes in the first place, and give them a percentage for every successful hit. Turn it into a friggin' gold rush. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2008-07-24 11:05 |
| #3 patrolling the streets for some hours before withdrawing What a lovely euphemism for "swaggering about town until they scurried for the hills ahead of the authorities". I guess I should just be happy that they haven't started mixing up this particular game with the alternative of "ambush the hell out of the relief column on the road into town". I wonder why they haven't yet? Are we just not getting those reports? |
| Posted by: Mitch H. 2008-07-24 09:50 |
| #2 try Hmm. an air strike on insurgents ... inside the village So how's that brilliant plan working out? |
| Posted by: ed 2008-07-24 09:47 |
| #1 try Hmm. an air strike on insurgents ... inside the village So how's that brilliant plan working out? |
| Posted by: ed 2008-07-24 09:47 |