Paratroopers engaged a Taliban force last week in a remote valley of southeastern Afghanistan after an outnumbered scout patrol held out for 2.5 hours against heavy insurgent attack. The May 3 battle in the Arghandab Valley, about 175 miles northeast of Kandahar, was part of the Coalition's spring offensive, dubbed "Operation Determined Resolve," with the aim of denying sanctuary to insurgents in preparation for fall elections, said a spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force 76. Initial reports indicate about 20 insurgents were killed and one wounded in the battle. One Afghan National Police officer was killed and five wounded, and six U.S. service members were wounded.The battle took shape after scouts in the Zabul Province received intelligence reports that insurgent forces happened to be in the same area. A group of seven scouts from the 2/503rd Infantry and 14 Afghan National Police headed toward the suspected location. "We had been working with local police," said Staff Sgt. Patrick Brannon, scout squad leader from Jacksonville, Ill. "Some of the information we had received led us to 18,000 DshKa heavy machine gun rounds, so we new their information was legitimate." Further intelligence reports placed 80 — 150 Taliban operating in the area. "We were informed that the Taliban were threatening the people for cooperating with Coalition forces," said Brannon.
"We moved east through a valley," said Spc. Joseph Leatham, from El Mirage, Ariz., describing the movement toward the Taliban position. "We were surrounded by walls — steep cliffs. It was a very uncomfortable feeling." Ten minutes into the trip, an Afghan man approached the convoy. The man had been recently released by the Taliban after having been beaten and threatened with execution for cooperation with Coalition forces. "The guy said he was about to be executed and that there were about 30 Taliban in the area," said Sgt. Nick Pak from Tampa, Fla. "He had a note around his neck threatening the people and demanding that there be no schools."