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Afghanistan
80 suspected Taleban killed in attack by Afghan forces
2007-03-26
British troops supported Afghan forces during a three-day offensive in which 80 suspected Taleban fighters were killed in Helmand province, a military spokesman said yesterday. More than 500 members of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) attacked a heavy concentration of militants in the area of Babaji, north of the provincial capital Lashkar Gah. Supported by UK and other international troops, the operation was reported to be the biggest offensive aimed at clearing a district to allow reconstruction work to begin in the province. Fighting began on Thursday, with a reported 70 militants killed on the first day. There were a "small number" of ANSF casualties, according to official UK sources. British troops provided air, medical and logistic support during the advance.

Lieutenant-Colonel Rory Bruce, spokesman for the UK Task Force, said: "This is the largest pre-planned operation undertaken by the ANSF so far and it marks another significant step towards Afghans being able to provide security for themselves. "This operation has been a great success and has exceeded our expectations."
Posted by:Seafarious

#17  Alledged Terrorists only qualify for alledged virgins......
Posted by: USN, Ret.   2007-03-26 13:26  

#16   But battalions organized on the Soviet model can have as few as 200.


In order to make their army look larger for propaganda purposes the Soviets made smmlller units. This also allowed to have keep people being happy for being generals instead of mere colonels.

For instance a WWII Soviet Division was a third in size of a German one and I am not sure it was a combined arms unit (like DBrigades and Divisions are). The real equivalent of a German Division both ins size and organization was the Soviet Army Corps, the equivalent of a German Army Corps was an Army, the equivalent of a German Army was called a Front.
Posted by: JFM   2007-03-26 12:19  

#15  Re #10 - so %^#$%$%^#%^ easy to replace them.

PakiWaki birth control. Instead of RU486 they use RUTaliban.
Posted by: Snoluns Ebboluth3749   2007-03-26 11:53  

#14  Chuck. I'm addicted to Terrorist Death Watch. THANKS! So, you'll use any confirmed kills from a reliable Western source (NATO, Coalition website, etc...)? Any idea how many terrorist we claim to have imprissioned?
Posted by: Captain Lewis   2007-03-26 11:43  

#13  Just an FYI. I did add this to the Terrorist Death Watch because it was from a Brit spokeman. Most of the claims I see are from the local Barney Fife so I discount them.
Posted by: Chuck Simmins   2007-03-26 10:50  

#12  Thank you, gentlemen. 200-300 plus it is, then.
Posted by: trailing wife   2007-03-26 10:35  

#11  But battalions organized on the Soviet model can have as few as 200.
Posted by: Fred   2007-03-26 10:33  

#10  The Taliban dying in droves would be even nicer if it wasn't so %^#$%$%^#%^ easy to replace them.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2007-03-26 10:31  

#9  It varies widely, TW.
An American battalion includes the battalion commander (Lieutenant Colonel -- in the Marine Corps, sometimes a Colonel), his staff, and headquarters, the Command Sergeant Major (CSM) (or Sergeant Major in the Marine Corps), and usually 3-5 companies, with a total of 300 to 1,200 soldiers or Marines.

Minimum of 300 up to around a thousand.
Posted by: Steve   2007-03-26 10:13  

#8  "Suspected?"

Maybe they should give them some "Alleged Perpetrators" t-shirts.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2007-03-26 10:06  

#7  Quick question: how many are in a battalion? An article here the other day said NATO was killing Taliban in battalion-sized groups on both sides of the border.
Posted by: trailing wife   2007-03-26 09:52  

#6  The "Feel-Good" story of the week! These double-digit kills are just so envigorating.
Posted by: Captain Lewis   2007-03-26 08:34  

#5  And the hits just keep on coming:

KABUL - Nearly 100 Taleban militants have been killed in the latest operation by Afghan and NATO forces in the southern part of Afghanistan, the government said Monday. At least 19 rebels were killed in the latest clashes on Sunday, in the Mir Manda and Haider Abad areas of Gerishk district of southern Helmand province, bringing the death toll since the start of the operation on Thursday to 99, the defence ministry said in statement.

It said the operation was initially conducted by Afghan military forces in the districts of Nadali, Gerishk and Lashkargah - where 69 Taleban militants and seven Afghan policemen were killed. NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) later joined forces in the campaign, the ministry said.
Posted by: Steve   2007-03-26 08:25  

#4  Isn't he, though? :-)

I mean, if he were on the bad guys' side, wouldn't we be reading reports of good guys dying in droves? That's what I figure.

But these guys probably see it as an opportunity to short-circuit all the safeguards and get straight into the highest level of heaven. Maybe if they were just a little bit holier they could win once in a while . . . .
Posted by: gorb   2007-03-26 04:55  

#3  gorb: Allahu akbar!

80 suspected Taleban killed in attack by Afghan forces

God Is Great!
Posted by: RD   2007-03-26 04:39  

#2  Man!! That amounts to 5760 virgins waiting to mount on the other side. I hope they reserved a stadium big enough!
Posted by: smn   2007-03-26 03:09  

#1  Allahu akbar!
Posted by: gorb   2007-03-26 01:28  

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