Afghan national army soldiers look at bodies of Taliban after fighting in Manara village of the Arghandabad district in the southern city of Kandahar June 20, 2008. (Ismail Sameem/Reuters)
Posted on 06/20/2008 9:50:38 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
MONARAI, Afghanistan (Reuters) - NATO and Afghan forces held mopping up operations, hunting Taliban fighters and burying the dead on Friday, after an air and ground offensive routed hundreds of insurgents from a valley near Kandahar city.
The allies mounted the offensive on Wednesday after the Taliban took control of the Arghandab valley, 20 km (12 miles) northwest of Kandahar.
Around 600 militants, including some who had escaped a week ago during a mass jail break from a prison in the city, had taken up positions in a cluster of villages, according to a provincial official and a Taliban spokesman.
On Friday, the governor of Kandahar province took a group of journalists to the battle zone after 800 Afghan troops, backed by hundreds of, mainly Canadian, NATO soldiers had wrested back control of the district.
--snip--
In the village of Monarai, the corpses of eight fighters lay under the shade of mulberry trees on the banks of a stream, while a dozen more were piled on top of one another a few meters away.
"We would like to ask you to bury them," Governor Assadullah Khalid told a group of haggard village elders.
Blood-stained sandals and shoes were scattered nearby among broken branches on one scorched patch of earth.
The governor estimated more than 100 Taliban fighters were killed in the onslaught, and said the bodies of many more had been dumped in a ditch elsewhere.
There was no sound of fighting, and few of the several thousand families who had fled earlier this week had begun to return to their homes in a valley known locally for the quality of its grapes, pomegranates and hashish.
Soldiers warned journalists to watch out for land mines planted by the insurgents.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Afghan national army soldiers look at bodies of Taliban after fighting in Manara village of the Arghandabad district in the southern city of Kandahar June 20, 2008. (Ismail Sameem/Reuters)
Any women and children? Enemy news reporting agencies (Reuters, AP) want to know.
Afghan national army soldiers (in background) standing near the bodies of Taliban after fighting in Manara village of the Arghandabad district in the southern city of Kandahar June 20, 2008. (Ismail Sameem/Reuters)
"The governor estimated more than 100 Taliban fighters were killed in the onslaught, and said the bodies of many more had been dumped in a ditch elsewhere."
Ya shoulda stayed in jail dumbass.
Must’ve been one hell of a wedding party going on there.
NY Times saddened by the demise of Taliban summer offensive.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is also deeply saddened.
One stop shopping.
Being a Taliban will remain the most dangerous job on earth, with a nearly 100% death rate.
They keep finding these dolts at Madrassas, and we keep taking them down.
Not a good start for the Taliban Spring offensive...
awww , There just getting warmed up, I’m sure,. probably regrouping at this very moment in another village or compound. ;-)
This is the proper approach. KILL all the Taliban b@stards. No prisoners please, or they’ll likely end up in our court system helping to line the pockets of liberal anti-American lawyers.
Every year its the same at Pinchy’s newspaper. Resurging Taliban, new offensive, blah blah blah.
Yep, right on the mark, pissant.
600 casualties? That is a MAJOR defeat.
I think you misread the body count.
Simply staying in Afghanistan and playing whack-a-mole with these idiots could go a long way to thinning the herd of the scum.
It wasn't much of a wrestling match, the Taliban got an old fashion butt whoopin.
With a billion muslims, 10-25% radical they DO have the numbers. We must keep the game of whack-a-mullah up!!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.