 U.S. and Afghan forces have killed an estimated 40 enemy soldiers in the south of the Central Asian nation in some of the most intense fighting seen in months. One Afghan police officer was killed, while five U.S. soldiers and two Afghan police officers were slightly wounded in the battle southwest of Deh Chopan, about 200 miles (321 kilometers) southwest of Kabul, the U.S. military said. U.S. jets and attack helicopters were pounding insurgent positions on Wednesday in the mountainous site that is suspected to be a Taliban safe haven. The fighting began when the Afghan and coalition troops came under attack from small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades while on a search-and-destroy mission as part of Operation Catania, the military said. | "search-and-destroy", I've always been fond of that term. |
"This mission is an ongoing effort to take away enemy sanctuaries," said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jerry O'Hara, Combined Joint Task Force-76 spokesman. "We are not letting up on the enemy and will continue to pursue them until the fighting stops. Coalition and Afghan forces will continue to defeat these Pakistanis militants for as long as necessary to ensure the people of Afghanistan remain free of oppression and tyranny," The Associated Press quoted him as saying.
| Bravo! Good idea! Peshawar delenda est! |
The United States, with support from coalition forces, invaded Afghanistan in 2001 following the September 11 attacks on America. They suspected the nation was harboring al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
| Maybe we suspected that because THEY SAID THEY WERE! Freaking AP moron... |
| Where do they get these guys? |
On Sunday, CIA director Porter Goss said he had an "excellent idea" where bin Laden was hiding, but that the al Qaeda chief would not be caught until weak links in the war on terrorism were strengthened. Goss did not name the country or countries he was referring to.
| I wouldn't describe Iran as a "weak link" in the WoT; it's a major player, and doesn't even pretend to be on our side. That leaves Pakland, Soddy Arabia, and Yemen. Soddy's a "weak link" because most of them are on the other side, Pak because they're playing both ends against the middle, and Yemen because they're under Soddy hegemony. |
But intelligence experts have long said they believed bin Laden was probably hiding in the rugged mountainous border region of Pakistan and Afghanistan. A U.S.-led force of about 20,000 mostly American troops is still in Afghanistan, pursuing militants along with Afghan forces. Over the past three months, fighting in the south and east has left hundreds dead and sparked fears the Afghan war is widening, rather than winding down.
| Sparked "fears" at CNN, I'd reckon, but not particularly within the military. Fighting picks up during the brutal Afghan summer, starts winding down during the brutal Afghan autumn, and dies off to background noise during the brutal Afghan winter. |
U.S. and Afghan officials warn things could get worse ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for September. More than 320 suspected rebels and 29 U.S. troops have been killed since March, AP quoted Afghan and U.S. officials as saying. More than three dozen Afghan police and soldiers also have died, as have more than 100 civilians. |