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| Afghanistan |
| Shah-i-Kot from the other side |
| 2002-03-07 |
Shah Kot (or Shahi Kot), which lies to the west of Gardez, is the center of the Taliban's activities. The area from Shah Kot to Zarmat is riddled with hundreds of caves, tunnels and passes. This natural complex provides ample room for Taliban fighters to move long distances, even from city to city. Sources suggested that the Taliban and al-Qaeda had entrenched their heavy weapons in this terrain long before the current US attacks began last weekend. These weapons include T54 tanks, 124mm [sic] heavy artillery, multi-barrel rocket launchers, 76mm anti-tank guns, Stingers and Sam 7 missiles. About 4,000 Arab and Afghan fighters, most of them trained, have now regrouped in the Gardez area, many of them equipped with special oxygen masks that allow them to secrete themselves deep in the bowels of the mountains. Previously, Mullah Saifur Rehman Mansoor, who once belonged to the Harkatul Jihad-i-Islami and whose father was a prominent figure in Shah Kot, was leading the troops. But now sources say that Maulana Jalaluddin Haqqani has taken over after arriving with additional forces. And just across the border in the Pakistan tribal areas, the Nasir tribe are fully supportive of the Taliban, and are already providing manpower to the Taliban. The sources say that the Taliban have given the signal for hit-and-run operations to be launched on the troops and installations of the US and its allies, all orchestrated from the Shah Kot to Zarmat area. The writer is sympathetic to the Talibs and gives a partisan description of how tough they are. The US puts their troop strength at 500 as of this evening on FoxNews. The T54 is pretty much an antique - it was the replacement for the WWII-era T34. SAM-7s (the Russian Strela) are shoulder-fired rockets that could be a danger to US helicopters, but were obsolete by the time the Sovs invaded Afghansitan. And the Stingers (if they exist) are left over from the 1980s. The artillery is probably two-generations-back 122mm towed pieces, and the "anti-tank guns" are probably ZIS-76 training pieces. The MRLs are probably 122-mm BM21s, which are fired in salvos from trucks - effective, but they eat ammunition at a hellacious rate. They're probably the most dangerous weapon in the stash. The thing to always remember with artillery, though, is that it's a specialty. It's only effective with trained artillery officers. I'd just about guess they didn't push that at al-Qaeda jihadi schools. All of this sounds like leftover junk from the Soviet-era Afghan army. If it's an accurate description of the stash, the US commander is probably breathing a sigh of relief. Guess we'll have to see if the US is smashing them flat or if the Talibs are making a comeback. I'd put my money on the US forces, but I'd only expect an 85% victory, with the remnants making it safely back to Pakland to try and regroup again in another four or six months. As somebody who was sheep-dip and has left the T.O.,you are right on. al-Qaeda whole operation depends on luring our guys into that tunnel complex. Well, they will be in for a nasty suprise.(heh, Heh) |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |