Forces, Militants Clash at Afghan Border

The Las Vegas Sun ^ | May 28, 2004 at 14:26:40 PDT | STEPHEN GRAHAM

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - U.S.-led forces fought militants near Afghanistan's unstable border, the military said Friday, just across from a Pakistani region where suspected al-Qaida fighters are believed to have found refuge.

The skirmish occurred Thursday near Shkin, a border town in Paktika province 140 miles south of the capital, Kabul, U.S. military spokeswoman Master Sgt. Cindy Beam said.

The U.S.-led troops were backed by warplanes in the fighting that was near a remote American base.

"Coalition forces reported troops in contact with anti-coalition militia near Shkin," Beam said in an e-mail. "Air support with precision ordnance was called in during the engagement."

She didn't say if there were casualties or give any other details. Local officials said they had no information about the incident.

Shkin lies just a miles from the border with Pakistan and its semiautonomous Waziristan tribal region, where Pakistani officials say hundreds of foreign militants, including al-Qaida fighters, are holed up.

American commanders have said attacks by al-Qaida remnants who remained in the area after the defeat of the Taliban in late 2001 are concentrated around Afghanistan's Paktika and Khost provinces, which border Waziristan.

Under pressure from the United States, the Pakistani government is threatening military action against the foreigners - believed to include Arabs and Chechens as well as Afghans - if they don't renounce violence and register with authorities.

Meanwhile, Afghan police arrested three Taliban suspects Friday after a remote-controlled explosive wounded five Afghan soldiers on a road in a southern province, a senior officer said.

The pickup truck the soldiers were traveling in was wrecked in the blast, which took place in the Sozyan area of Uruzgan province.

"It was a remote-controlled mine. The vehicle was totally damaged. It was the good luck of our soldiers that they weren't killed and only wounded," said Rozi Khan, Uruzgan province police chief.

Police surrounded the area after the attack and arrested three suspected Taliban rebels, he said, adding that an investigation was under way.

More than 350 people have died in violence across Afghanistan this year. Attacks blamed on anti-government rebels have increased in recent weeks, casting a shadow over preparations for the country's first post-Taliban elections in September.

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[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

pjng!

[Dog]

Happy Hunting guys!

[Dog]

BTW Ernest......I wish the press would stop calling these people militants.....they are freaking terrorists!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Agreed.

[Boot Hill]

"The skirmish occurred Thursday near Shkin, a border town in Paktika province 140 miles south of the capital, Kabul."

Note Wana in the center of the map. That is the major city in the South Waziristan tribal area. Shkin (too small to be shown) is located approximately underneath the letter "K" in the city name Kaniguram, just north of Wana. Shkin is located about one mile inside Afghanistan territory.

The South Waziristan tribal area has been a hotspot since we invaded Afghanistan and will remain so till either Musharraf cracks down on the tribal chiefs, or until American find a way to close the border. Shkin is major cross-border route into South Waziristan, and as such, will also remain a hotspot for the foreseeable future.

Click here for one of the best sites on the internet for maps of the entire world:

 

This second map is just to orient yourself to the area shown in the first map. The town of Zhob can be found on both maps. Look for it along the Afghani border on the map below. Wana is about 100 km north of that.

Enjoy!

--Boot Hill

[MarineDad]

[Coop]

Mud huts vs. precision ordnance. Ouch!