Gunships Step Up Onslaught

The Times(UK) ^ | 10-17-2001 | Michael Evans/Roland Watson/Catherine Philp

[blam]

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 17 2001

Gunships step up onslaught

BY MICHAEL EVANS AND ROLAND WATSON IN WASHINGTON AND CATHERINE PHILP IN QUETTA

*Alliance closes in on key town
*Fanatical 55 Brigade is targeted

A KEY Taleban stronghold was on the brink of collapse last night as America used one of its most fearsome attack aircraft to threaten the imminent launch of special forces ground operations.

The Pentagon said the strategic town of Mazar-i Sharif was within a day or two of being captured by Northern Alliance forces after one of the heaviest nights of bombing in the 11-day campaign over Afghanistan.

More than 100 US and British aircraft took to the skies on Monday, the Pentagon said, with only slightly fewer in action last night. The Taleban's combat power had been "eviscerated", according to the Pentagon, and coalition aircraft were continuing to target Taleban forces "in a robust way", a tactical switch that marked a new phase in the war.

The change of gear was highlighted by the use of two low-flying AC130 gunships over southern Afghanistan, the first time they had been used in the campaign. The converted Hercules transport aircraft raked with cannon and machinegun fire a Taleban stronghold in Kandahar linked to the fanatical 55 Brigade, the elite force of Arab and other foreign volunteer fighters dedicated to Osama bin Laden. The 3,000-strong brigade is seen by the Americans as a key target in the new phase of the operation, which is aimed at hitting troop s around Kabul and Kandahar.

The Americans hope that attacks on 55 Brigade's positions could uncover the whereabouts of the terrorist leader wanted for the attacks in New York and Washington. The Pentagon said last night that the psychological impact of the AC130, which circles slowly around its target while raining down bombs and bullets, was considerable.

Defence sources said that its involvement indicated that American special forces ground operations might soon be launched against key Taleban targets. The gunship's "search-and-destroy missions" are often combined with helicopter-borne units.

The flight of the first turbo-prop gunship over Afghanistan underlined America's increasing confidence that it had the freedom of the skies after the attacks on the country's air defence systems. It also provided an indication that US bombers are working with improved intelligence. Lieutenant - General Gregory Newbold, a Pentagon spokesman, said that Nort h ern Alliance forces had advance d to within 6 miles of Mazar-i Sharif. He said Taleban forces in the city were in danger of being cut off over the next day or two.

The Afghan opposition claimed that the first phase of the war was now over, and said it would increase co-operation with the United States in identifying targets and co-ordinating attacks. Abdullah Abdullah, the Northern Alliance foreign minister, said: "The aim would be to co-ordinate efforts on all fronts to move against the Taleban where they are weakest."

During one attack on Monday night 35 per cent of the contents of a warehouse run by the International Committee of the Red Cross in Kabul was also destroyed. The Pentagon said it was investigating whether it was hit by an American bomb or by Taleban anti-aircraft fire.(One man was injured.)

A doctor from Kandahar General Hospital who fled to Quetta after fleeing from the bombing, said that the bodies of 12 dead Taleban fighters had been brought to the hospital after an attack on military quarters in the city. "They said that another 50 had been killed but their bodies had been blown to pieces," the doctor said. He said it was impossible to tell how many Taleban fighters had been killed since the campaign began as their bodies were usually taken straight to their families for burial. The doctor said the intensified bombing had caused a new wave of panic in the half-empty city .

More than half of the hospital's 200 staff have left Kandahar after the city's Taleban governor ordered fighters to move weapons into the hospital compound for safekeeping when the bombing began.

[AF68]

Meanwhile, down south, so far there is absolutely no sign of the Taleban splitting.

Gee, the Taliban foreign minister just defected, guys. That's not significant? There's a lot of lazy journalism in this article. And since when do AC-130's use "bombs"?

[Moosilauke]

More than half of the hospital's 200 staff have left Kandahar after the city's Taleban governor ordered fighters to move weapons into the hospital compound for safekeeping when the bombing began.

Tomorrow's Guardian headline:
Americans bomb Afghan hospital killing civilians

[tom paine 2]

You know every time the dopes in the media talk about how the taliban has been blown to pieces, there should be an obligatory showing of the dismembered bodies of our civilian casualties at the WTC, all 5000 of them.

[tom paine 2]

You know every time the dopes in the media talk about how the taliban has been blown to pieces, there should be an obligatory showing of the dismembered bodies of our civilian casualties at the WTC, all 5000 of them.

[cyberaxe]

.....ding, ding, ding.....

.....we have a winner .....

[kAcknor]

kAcknor Sez:

 

"H" Model Gunship with the Spectre Logo... And a few extras. ;)

 

 

"yIQeqQo' neH, DoS yIqIp!" (Don't just aim, hit the target!)

Basic HTML help for new FR posters. <Ver 1.4>

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[Aggie Mama]

Those pictures make me feel warm and fuzzy. Finally, a great use of my tax dollars!

[cyberaxe]

.....good link to warm and fuzzy stuff.....

[blam]

"Americans bomb Afghan hospital killing civilians"

LOL. That was their headline today.

[cyberaxe]

.....and a "real" goodie from AFTV.....

[PokeyJoe]

Hmmmm....

I wonder what you can do with a carrier that doesn't have any aircraft or helicopters on it...

Hmmmm....

Maybe this.

[cyberaxe]

.....lol.....

.....we don't need no little planes here!....

[PokeyJoe]

yeah, I was thinking - ya know, what's the minimum runway length for an AC-130U with 8 JATO bottles strapped on the side, sitting on a carrier making 25 knots with a 15 knot headwind.

Answer: Short enough to take off and go hunting - safely.

[demsux]

outstanding, cyberaxe

[cyberaxe]

.....full ammo.....

.....empty tanks.....

.....(mid-air re-fuel).....

.....it could happen.....

[stumpy]

If your on the receiving end of a 105 (same results as the 122mm rockets we got at DaNang) it seems like a bomb. Had occasion to be where the "short" 105's came in. My laundry lady raised my prices.

[Bombard]

AC-130 2 20mm Gattling guns/ 1 40mm rapid fire cannon/ 1 105mm rapid fire gun. These platforms play hell on ground troops. I would bet that they are being used with fighter bombers to catch any Tali's that might try to hide in bunkers while trying to avoid the AC-130's.I was not a very good night for ole Bin's boys. Payback is a Mother F.....!

[Dan Day]

I wonder what you can do with a carrier that doesn't have any aircraft or helicopters on it... Hmmmm.... Maybe this.

Wow...

I can practically hear the catapult getting a hernia.

I'll bet landing would be a real bitch, though... My first thought was that it would be impossible to land a C-130 on a carrier, but then I asked myself, how did they get that one *on* the carrier in the first place prior to the takeoff they filmed?

[Nip]

Only if you can accurately predict where a moving target will be in 4 or 5 hours.

This translates as knowing where he will be, plus or minus 50 feet, and when he will be there, plus or minus a few seconds.

Remember Billie tried that a while back and "used a million dollar missile to hit a 10 dollar tent." And even then there wasn't any one of importance in the tent!

[Pharmboy]

Thanks for your excellent reply. I am not ex-military but I now understand.