Five Suspected Al-Qaida Fighters Killed in Clash With U.S. and Afghan Troops

AP breaking ^ | November 17, 2003 | Paul Haven

[Kaslin]

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Suspected al-Qaida terrorists attacked a contingent of U.S. and Afghan troops in eastern Afghanistan, sparking a firefight in which five fighters were killed, a spokesman for the U.S. military said Monday.

The attack occurred Friday in the Barmal district of eastern Paktika province, U.S. military spokesman Maj. Bryan Hilferty told The Associated Press.

"Anti-coalition forces attacked U.S. and Afghan National Army forces in the Barmal area," Hilferty said. "We returned fire and killed five al-Qaida terrorists," he said, adding that eight Afghan soldiers were wounded in the clash.

He did not say what led coalition forces to believe the men were part of Osama bin Laden's terror network, as opposed to members of the ousted Taliban regime, who have also been carrying out attacks on U.S. forces and their Afghan allies.

Hilferty strongly denied allegations by Paktika police chief Daulat Khan that U.S. forces had killed six civilians in the area on the same day.

"We take our rules of engagement very seriously and I can assure you that these terrorists were not peaceful civilians," the spokesman said in an e-mail response to a written request for information about the incident.

Khan had said six civilians were killed when U.S. warplanes dropped a bomb on their vehicle on a road in Barmal on Friday.

Meanwhile, the military announced that U.S. and Afghan forces pursuing suspected Taliban insurgents through the steep, snow-covered mountains of eastern Afghanistan had confiscated rockets, mortars and other ammunition in recent days.

But there has been no fighting since Friday in the operation, dubbed Mountain Resolve, which began Nov. 7 in Nuristan and Kunar provinces, Hilferty said.

An American soldier was killed on Friday when his vehicle struck an explosive device near Asadabad, the capital of Kunar. An American soldier also was reported wounded there, but it was not known if he was hurt in the same explosion.

On Saturday, U.S. soldiers found a weapons cache of about 100 small rockets, a few hundred mortar rounds and other ammunition, he said during a briefing. Hilferty declined to say when or exactly where the material was discovered, saying only that it was confiscated near a compound in Nuristan.

Insurgents believed linked to the Taliban regime, which was ousted from power in Afghanistan two years ago by the U.S.-led coalition, and suspected al-Qaida members, have stepped up attacks against coalition forces, supporters of Afghanistan's central government and aid agencies.

Recently, there have been several clashes with Taliban and al-Qaida suspects in Paktika, a province bordering Pakistan, south of where Operation Mountain Resolve is being conducted. Last month, two CIA agents were killed in an ambush there near the base at Shkin.

[Kaslin]

I did a search, but have not found this posted yet

[Coop]

Good news ping!

[DoctorMichael]

Dead al-Qaeda...........now THATS good!

[Lijahsbubbe]

Five less scourges on the earth.

[ConservativeMan55]

Dead Al-Queda? Good!

Dead Al-Queda buried with pig guts!!

Thats PRICELESS!!!!!

[ConservativeMan55]

Need more bacon!!!

[JFC]

good good good. the more scum we get off this earth the better we all will be wtg George W. Bush... Rid thi world of those evil doers.....

[gaspar]

Note that while the military spokesman used the term terrorists to define those killed AP used the term "fighters". The contempt that AP shows for our efforts in Afghanistan is unrelenting.

[Kaslin]

A good Al Qaeda Member is a dead Al Qaeda Member, and a good Taliban is dead Taliban *nodding*

[ConservativeMan55]

Not only that...but they called them suspected al-Qaida terrorists.

[Coop]

Not only that...but they called them suspected al-Qaida terrorists.

Well, I suspect they're all right about now wondering why they have 72 raisins instead of virgins.

[zencat]

Another reason I love this president. He understands the only way to win this war is on the offensive. Sounds like we're cracking down in Iraq too.

[Kaslin]

It should not be surprising that the terrorist appeasers define these scums as freedom fighters. It's obvious they have no dea what freedom means

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

[Hilferty strongly denied allegations by Paktika police chief Daulat Khan that U.S. forces had killed six civilians in the area on the same day...Khan had said six civilians were killed when U.S. warplanes dropped a bomb on their vehicle on a road in Barmal on Friday.]

Message to Chief Khan:

"You got to get your mind right, boy."

[navyblue]

My guess is that we should keep a wary eye on the police chief too!

[talleyman]

Bump!

[Tunehead54]

I'd cook that a little longer if I were you - maybe fire up a MOAB to get the edges nice and crispy?

---

;-)