Afghan, Coalition Forces Kill Scores of Taliban During Six-Hour Fight

American Forces Press Service


Oct. 28, 2007 - Afghan and coalition forces engaged and killed more than six dozen Taliban fighters near the Musa Qaleh Wadi region of Afghanistan's Helmand province yesterday, officials reported. A combined Afghan-coalition forces patrol was conducting reconnaissance when Taliban fighters engaged them with rocket and small-arms fire. The combined patrol immediately returned fire, maneuvered, and employed close-air support, resulting about 80 Taliban fighters killed during a six-hour engagement. During the battle, the combined force exchanged small-arms fire with the fleeing attackers, quickly putting them on the defensive.

The insurgents attacked from a trench line using small arms, machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. The Afghan and coalition forces fixed the enemy in their positions, and four separate precision-munitions engagements killed more than six dozen insurgents who were trying to reinforce enemy positions.

"Afghan national security and coalition forces remain devoted to uprooting Taliban insurgents in the Musa Qaleh Wadi region," said Army Maj. Chris Belcher, Combined Joint Task Force 82 spokesman.

In other operations yesterday, Afghan and coalition forces engaged insurgent fighters near Kandahar province's Shah Wali Kowt district.

The combined force was conducting a reconnaissance patrol when several insurgents engaged them with rocket and small-arms fire. The patrol immediately engaged the Taliban element, killing several enemy fighters before they fled the area.

"Today, the Afghan national security forces spotted the enemies of Afghanistan before they could carry out their attack," Belcher said. "The superior capabilities of the ANSF were instrumental in this successful engagement with Taliban insurgents."

(Compiled from Combined Joint Task Force 82 news releases.)