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| Afghanistan |
| Unknown choppers carry Afghan militants to north |
| 2009-10-13 |
| [Iran Press TV Latest] Afghan President Hamid Karzai says his administration is looking into reports of 'unknown' army helicopters carrying gunmen to the north of the country, amid increasing militancy in the area. Karzai said investigations were underway to decide whether the reports are related to the mounting insurgency in the north, the BBC Persian reported. He added that authorities have received similar inquiries in the northwest as well. Reports say the choppers were 'American.' Press TV has not been able to confirm these reports. The issue has raised serious questions about the security in Afghanistan as analysts question the unprecedented growth of militants in northern parts of the country, despite of the presence of thousands of foreign forces in the south, who are tasked with keeping the militants at bay. The Afghan president added that according to the reports, the helicopters have been taking gunmen to Baghlan, Kunduz and Samangan provinces overnight for about five months now. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #7 That seems more in line with what locals are willing to do, tho some intel indicates that smugglers are more likely the culprits/financiers (that trucks and their cargos are getting held up at the borders is an anathema to them). Another thing out of my comments - transport of munitions. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2009-10-13 21:05 |
| #6 Also there have been comments that the recent unrest in the North has been caused by ISI agents paying locals to attack the NATO supply columns. |
| Posted by: Frozen Al 2009-10-13 14:41 |
| #5 Plenty of home grown Pushtun gunmen in the northwest, without the bother and expense of helicopters to fly them in. Likely the home-growns also aren't too keen on doing large-scale suicide attacks. And any gathering of imported cannon fodder risks being discovered and hit by Predators. Hence the airlift. Also, think along the lines of the Taliban or their backers bringing in technical experts, advisors, paymasters and religious/military leadership. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2009-10-13 14:22 |
| #4 Are they black? |
| Posted by: Richard of Oregon 2009-10-13 11:57 |
| #3 "Mr. Gilani, these helicopters aren't ours. If they're not your helicopters, then perhaps you won't mind if we shoot them down?" |
| Posted by: Steve White 2009-10-13 10:59 |
| #2 Plenty of home grown Pushtun gunmen in the northwest, without the bother and expense of helicopters to fly them in. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2009-10-13 04:53 |
| #1 Reports say the choppers were 'American.' Press TV has not been able to confirm these reports. The Iranians fly American or American-design-foreign-built (Augusta) helicopters. The Pakistanis have Bell-412 helicopters. There's also an open market for them. Anyone could buy a few and ship them into a neighboring country under guise of an NGO. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2009-10-13 00:26 |