 |
|
Mangal Bagh. |
Posted on 07/01/2008 1:39:31 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
The US military and Afghan National Army fought yet another major engagement in eastern Afghanistan along the border with Pakistan. An estimated 33 Taliban were killed in a battle in the Spera district in Khost province.
The battle began after the Taliban launched a complex attack on a US outpost in the Spera district, right along the Pakistani border. The Taliban followed up a rocket attack with small-arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire. US forces beat back the attack with "mortar, artillery fire and close air support," the International Security Assistance Force reported in a press release.
The Taliban fighters "crossed into Pakistan." The US military said the Pakistani border guards launched an artillery strike at the Taliban forces. The US military estimated 33 Taliban fighters were killed in the fighting. No US or Afghan forces were killed in the engagements.
The Taliban have launched a series of attacks against district centers and Afghan and Coalition forces in eastern Afghanistan. Paktika, Paktia, and Khost provinces have seen an increase in attacks over the past two weeks. The Taliban are attempting to destabilize the eastern region and overrun Afghan government centers. Many of the attacks have originated from Pakistan.
Twenty-two Taliban were killed after Afghan police repelled attacks on two district centers in Paktika province and one in Paktia province on the night of June 24. Earlier that same day, a large Taliban force made up of Afghan, Arab, and Chechen fighters attacked a district center in Paktia. Afghan and US forces killed 16 Taliban during the attack.
(Excerpt) Read more at longwarjournal.org ...
Imagine that
fyi
Giddyup! Good job repelling and pursuing and destroying!!!
Pakistani military advances in Khyber,/b>
********************EXCERPT*******************
By June 29, 2008 10:33 PM
|
|
Mangal Bagh. |
The military operation in Pakistan's tribal agency of Khyber completed its second day. The military said the operation is limited in scope, while the Taliban have again threatened to attack the Pakistani government.
The Pakistani paramilitary Frontier Corps is reported to have cleared a region run by the Lashkar-e-Islam. Paramilitary forces occupied the high ground and cleared the subdistrict of Bara, a stronghold of Lashkar-e-Islam and Haji Namdar's radical Islamist group. One commander of the Lashkar-e-Islam was reported killed.
The operation is said to be directly targeting the Ansar-ul-Islam, Lashkar-e-Islam, and Namdar's forces. The government has refused to name the specific targets of the operation, but Ansar-ul-Islam, Lashkar-e-Islam, and Namdar's group have been officially banned by the government.
The Frontier Corps used artillery and armored vehicles in clearing Bara. The Army has stayed out of the fight but has supported the operation with Cobra attack helicopters. Two bunkers and a prison run by Lashkar-e-Islam were destroyed, and Mangal Bagh's home was burned to the ground. Bagh, the leader of the Lashkar-e-Islam, is said to have escaped to a neighboring area in Khyber.
Haji Namdar runs a Taliban group called the Promotion of Virtue and Suppression of Vice. The Taliban group enforces a strict version of sharia, or Islamic law, and advocates fighting US forces in Afghanistan. Namdar's followers beat Muslims for shaving their beards and neglecting to attend mosque. His forces are said to have merged with the Lashkar-e-Islam, a powerful Taliban-like group that is fighting rivals of the Ansar-ul-Islam.
ummmmmm,,, The Pakistani border guards didn't see them going into Afghanistan in the first place? I think Pakistan is playing two ends against the middle and only reacting when they get called on it.
I imagine some of the Taliban members are also Paki border guards.
Missile kills 9 in Pak's Khyber Agency
And from June 30:
(The writer was a special assistant to Afghanistan's former defence minister Ahmad Shah Massoud.)
Calling out the ISI...
Excellent! Remember SCOTUS and take no prisoners!
Elimination of another breed of RAT, same species however, as the RATS we have here. Great news bump.
The battles with the Taliban I have seen reported lately is along the border with Pakistan. We most have done a good job of getting rid of the majority of them in Afgahanistan.
That’s OK, there are many, many more in Pakistan.
As Iraq is progressively pacified I expect that Afghanistan is heating up again as the focus of AQ shifts back there. These are NOT two separate wars. They are two linked campaigns in the ongoing Islamic War.
Exactly, we should have gave initial warning then flattened these areas long ago and they'd have nothing left to do but fight amongst themselves over the remaining resources.
A very reasonable suggestion.
Unfortunately not. Especially in the high mountain valleys of the Hindu Kush - in places like the Kunar and Patika Provinces...Still "Taliban Central" - and our troops are fighting them every day = to an average of about 3 firefights a day -
But most of the news coverage is in Iraq -
From the Stars and Stripes about one unit in the KUNAR - there for 13 months, 2 to go.
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=63101&archive=true
"Soldiers from "The Rock" have been awarded six Silver Stars. Forty-eight have earned Bronze Stars with valor. More than 140 Army Commendation Medals with valor have been approved. Ninety-eight Purple Hearts have been awarded. More than 150 other awards for valor have been submitted for approval — including two for the Medal of Honor, three of for the Distinguished Service Cross and three more for Silver Stars.
The numbers are a testament to the fierce fighting the battalion has seen in Afghanistan, where insurgent attacks have become both more numerous and more brazen over the past year.
The battalion has been involved in about 950 engagements with the enemy during its stint in Afghanistan. Fifteen soldiers from the unit and two Marines working in the province have died during the rotation.
It beyond 'heating up" = Our troops in the Kunar Province of No. Eastern Afghanistan were subjected, last year, to the heaviest fighting since the beginning of the war.
and for an idea of what they went through last year - watch one of several accounts - watch the 4 short videos of the ABC documentary - Sebastian Yunger, (wrote "Perfect Storm") was embedded with them for 4 1/2 months...
And it's worse this year...
This year , that level is up another 40%. (Read my post #20)
videos:
http://abcnews.go.com/search?searchtext=The%20Other%20War&type=
..
That would be my stategy -
The Taliban fighters "crossed into Pakistan." The US military said the Pakistani border guards launched an artillery strike at the Taliban forces. The US military estimated 33 Taliban fighters were killed in the fighting. No US or Afghan forces were killed in the engagements. The Taliban have launched a series of attacks against district centers and Afghan and Coalition forces in eastern Afghanistan... Many of the attacks have originated from Pakistan. Twenty-two Taliban were killed after Afghan police repelled attacks on two district centers in Paktika province and one in Paktia province on the night of June 24. Earlier that same day, a large Taliban force made up of Afghan, Arab, and Chechen fighters attacked a district center in Paktia. Afghan and US forces killed 16 Taliban during the attack.
My husband and I had decided that this was pretty much inevitable. If you block the tu*ds in one place (Iraq), they are bound to squeeze out somewhere else (Afghanistan). We just need to keep shooting them. Eventually there won't be any left. Oh, happy day!!
Perhaps the time will come when our forces will be given permission to do it or do it out of necessity.
It really should be done for our sake as well as the Pakis and Afghanis.
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.