Wednesday, June 11, 2008

U.S., Afghan Troops Use Mortar Fire to Thwart Insurgent Attack

American Forces Press Service

June 10, 2008 - U.S. and Afghan troops used mortar fire yesterday to defeat insurgents who fired upon a forward operating base in Afghanistan's Zabul province,
military officials said. A group of insurgents attacked the base with small-arms and mortar fire. Afghan and coalition forces responded to the attack with mortar fire. One insurgent was killed in the exchange, which occurred near the province's Deh Chopan district.

No civilians, Afghan
security forces or coalition forces were injured. The base incurred minor damage.

In other news from Afghanistan, several militants were killed and one was detained by coalition forces during a counterinsurgency operation in Helmand province June 8,
military officials said.

Coalition forces searched compounds in Kajaki district for the second time in four days, targeting a Taliban
leader linked to public executions of Afghan National Police officers.

Coalition forces identified a group of armed militants occupying defensive positions and responded with an air strike. A second militant group engaged the coalition force with small-arms fire. Coalition forces responded with small-arms fire. Several militants were killed during the two engagements.

Coalition forces discovered several AK-47 rifles and a cache of
narcotics. The weapons and drugs were destroyed.

(Compiled from Combined Joint Task Force 101 news releases.)

1 comment:

Dr. John Maszka said...

Amy Zalman (2007 b) expresses doubt that anyone should be surprised about the “Taliban’s resurgence across Afghanistan, including several lethal suicide bombings in the last month.” Zalman’s reasoning? “The current upsurge in Taliban violence is far from spontaneous and actually reflects the fact that the Taliban never left.” She cites U.S. General John M. Keane, Vice Chief of the staff of the US Army, who warned a full seven months after the first American strikes were carried out: “It’s going to be tough. This is a tough environment and these guys are not going to give up easy.” Zalman also quotes the Christian Science Monitor, which in May 2003 reported significant Taliban activity in Afghanistan. The article featured New York University’s Barnett Rubin, an expert on Afghanistan who claimed that then Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld was intentionally misleading the American public regarding the status and the capabilities of the Taliban. According to Rubin, the Taliban were still strong and receiving support from Pakistan. Zalman further supports her argument with the winter 2003-04 suicide bombings carried out by the Taliban “that killed Afghan aid workers and U.S. military personnel.” Foreign policy analyst Mark Sedra concurred that the events in Afghanistan were “far from marking the defeat of the Taliban.”