Assuming the number of dead is correct, and the dead civilians are actually civilians, it would require at least one man to carry away each body, which would make a minimum of 108 attackers. More'n likely, if there were that many dead, there whould be a large number of wounded as well, making the total number of attackers even greater (and some of the wounded should have been severely wounded enough to require being carried away). And 54 men carrying 54 bodies away should have been rather noticeable from both the ground and the helicopters. Unless 100% of the civilians in the area were sympathizers, I would think a few of them would have noticed the body evacuation and informed us of it and where they were taken. And if the civilians in the area are 100% sympathetic to the fighters (or more afraid of them than us), we got big troubles ahead.
That assumes only attackers would take part in that effort.
There is another thread with a report from one of the soldiers in the attack. He indicated that the entire street cleared out, with some of the men running down side streets.
If many in the town knew of the attack and didn't say or do anything, I think it is reasonable to assume they would help in the aftermath. And it could have been done under cover of darkness. Reporters didn't show up until the next day.
Becki
So are you suggesting that our guys succeeded only in taking out a woman and an old man and are then lying to us about how many they killed?