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| Afghanistan | |
| Taliban Force Under Fire in Afghan Mountains | |
| 2003-08-25 | |
| Ahah! It's the rest of the story... Warplanes of U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan pounded Taliban positions in remote central mountains Monday while government troops captured dozens of suspected rebels. More than 450 Afghan government troops and dozens of U.S. soldiers backed by aircraft were chasing up to 600 Taliban guerrillas in the Dai Chopan region of the restive Zabul province, Dai Chopan police chief Juman Khan told Reuters.
More likely bombs from the aircraft. Khan said about 40 suspects had been detained, although there might be innocent villagers among them. There had been no contact with the Taliban fighters since Saturday, when five government soldiers were killed in an ambush by a group of guerrillas who lost four men in an ensuing skirmish. Khan described the Taliban force scattered over rugged terrain as one of the biggest concentrations since the fundamentalist Muslim group was overthrown in a U.S.-led campaign in late 2001. He said it included fighters blamed for attacks in Zabul and neighboring Uruzgan province Friday and Saturday. Just like I thought, they had a couple of successful attacks on police stations, got overconfident, massed their forces, and got caught. Among them was thought to be Mullah Dadullah, one of the Taliban’s top commanders accused of ordering the execution of a foreign Red Cross worker this year, he said. Dad? The operation in Dai Chopan follows a surge in violence in the past two weeks across Afghanistan in which more than 100 people have been killed, many in attacks blamed on a resurgent Taliban. Afghan authorities say the Taliban have been operating in increasingly large groups in recent weeks to attack government troops, officials and aid workers, mostly in the south and southeast. The larger the group, the better the target. | |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #12 Stoping at the border is the problem,Steve. The VC had the same deal,attack then scurry across the border into Loas and Cambodia.These attacks are going to continue until we go in and clean out the roches. |
| Posted by: raptor 2003-8-25 2:19:06 PM |
| #11 The attack was part of joint operations between the U.S. military and local Afghan militia hunting down Taliban fighters blamed for a series of attacks mostly in the south and east of the country, according to Ahmad Khan, a spokesman for the governor of Zabul province. Khan said Afghan forces collected the bodies of at least 50 Taliban fighters after the bombardment. The bombing destroyed a Taliban mountain camp near the border with Pakistan, he said. We tag them and they bag them, I like these joint ops. Keep hitting them all the way back to the border, then take pictures of where the survivors go. |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-8-25 12:55:59 PM |
| #10 The Virgins will be working OT tonight. Wonder if they have a union... |
| Posted by: Ned 2003-8-25 12:41:53 PM |
| #9 "Put the sceear in'um." |
| Posted by: Lucky 2003-8-25 12:07:42 PM |
| #8 wounded = soon to be dead in that environment, good point though, Steve. Another Taliban victory when it's retold in NWFP |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-8-25 11:55:06 AM |
| #7 That, and the Taliban most likely carried away some of the dead and wounded. SOP for guerrilla forces to hide how badly they lost. |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-8-25 11:25:15 AM |
| #6 ...and there was much rejoicing. |
| Posted by: Hiryu 2003-8-25 11:24:38 AM |
| #5 40 to 50 dead bodies.......probably more casualties, but the Reuters guys don't have the stomach for assessing miscellaneous scattered body parts.......a 250/500/1000 pounder normally doesn't leave the body intact. |
| Posted by: SOG475 2003-8-25 11:05:57 AM |
| #4 It's been a good day for hunting: KABUL (Reuters) - Up to 50 Taliban fighters were killed in a big joint operation by U.S. and Afghan forces on Monday in the southern province of Zabul, a spokesman for the governor said. "The deaths were the result of heavy bombing by U.S. forces and ground attacks by government forces," Hamdullah Watandoost told Reuters. "We have seen 40 to 50 dead bodies." |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-8-25 10:55:04 AM |
| #3 Just like I thought, they had a couple of successful attacks on police stations, got overconfident, massed their forces, and got caught. That's guerrilla warfare by definition - attacking isolated outposts or convoys with superior numbers at a time and place of the Taliban's choosing. The problem they're running into is precision air support, in form of attack helicopters, warplanes and armed UAV's on patrol. (I don't think we have much artillery on the ground, and their limited range coupled with Afghanistan's rugged terrain, makes the use of big guns a difficult proposition). |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2003-8-25 10:29:27 AM |
| #2 That's "environment" - if I could type, I'd be dangerous. :-p |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2003-8-25 9:58:05 AM |
| #1 Oooooh, target-rich enviroment! Go for it, Air Force! |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2003-8-25 9:56:06 AM |