Posted on 06/19/2005 11:05:09 AM PDT by Wiz
KABUL, Afghanistan - Fighting raged across southern Afghanistan on Sunday as the U.S. military pounded suspected Taliban positions with airstrikes that killed as many as 20 militants along a narrow mountain footpath.
A Taliban spokesman, meanwhile, claimed his fighters had assassinated a kidnapped Afghan police chief and five of his men for collaborating with the U.S.-led coalition.
U.S. aircraft opened fire on a group of suspected Taliban along a narrow footpath in the high mountains northwest of Gereshk, in southern Helmand province, after rebels had pinned down a coalition ground patrol with rocket and small-arms fire.
"Initial battle-damage assessments indicate 15 to 20 enemies died and an enemy vehicle was destroyed," the army said in a statement. No Americans were injured.
Military spokesman Lt. Col. Jerry O'Hara added a warning to the insurgents.
"When these criminals engage coalition forces, they do so at considerable risk," he said. "We are not going to let up on them. There is not going to be a safe haven in Afghanistan."
O'Hara told The Associated Press that additional U.S. and Afghan forces had been sent to the scene and the numbers of rebel dead could rise.
Three months of bloodshed across the south and east has left hundreds dead and sparked fears that the Afghan war is widening, rather than winding down.
Afghan and American officials have warned they expect more bloodshed ahead of key parliamentary elections in September.
In other violence Sunday, three rockets smashed into the southern city of Kandahar, jolting residents but causing no casualties.
One of the rockets hit an empty lot near the former home of fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, which now houses U.S. special forces troops, said Gen. Salim Khan, the deputy police chief. The other two hit elsewhere in the city.
Khan blamed Taliban rebels for the attack, and U.S. troops cordoned off the area next to Mullah Omar's old home.
"The one rocket hit right next to Mullah Omar's home, and two other rockets hit fields in Kandahar city," said Khan. "The Taliban did this. Nobody else would do such a thing."
Elsewhere in Helmand, gunmen shot to death three men — a judge, an intelligence worker and an employee of the provincial education department, said Haji Mohammed Wali, a spokesman for the governor.
He said it was not clear whether the Taliban or some other armed group was behind the Saturday night attack.
A land mine also exploded on a road in Khost, damaging a vehicle. Provincial police chief Mohammed Ayub said the mine was rigged to explode via remote control and the target was a U.N. vehicle. But spokesman Adrian Edwards said no U.N. vehicles were in the province at the time of the attack early Sunday.
In a victory for Afghan forces and the coalition, national army troops captured Hazrat Ali, the former Taliban intelligence and information chief in central Ghazni province, said Defense Ministry spokesman Zaher Murat. No soldiers were injured in the operation Friday in Gelam district, Murat said.
Purported Taliban spokesman Mullah Latif Hakimi claimed responsibility for the ambush of a police convoy in southern Afghanistan earlier this week and said insurgents had killed a district police chief and five of his men after taking them captive.
Mullah Latif Hakimi said five other officers captured in the Thursday ambush were alive. He said the men would be face a trial.
Hakimi often calls news organizations to claim responsibility for attacks on behalf of the Taliban. His information has sometimes proven untrue or exaggerated and his exact tie to the group's leadership is unclear.
Some 260 suspected rebels and 29 U.S. troops have been killed since March, according to Afghan and U.S. officials. About three dozen Afghan police and soldiers also have died, as have more than 100 civilians.
Hazrat Ali, the former Taliban intelligence and information chief captured ping
He is a very uesful catch - Good Ops will come from this one -
Hopefully, if we can tickle his feet without the loons on the left getting upset.
Good Hunting!
The media will do anything to prevent them from being called terrorists.
During the Vietnam war you rarely heard them N Vietnamese called communists.
Somethings never change.
Yeah we better get Dick Durbin's permission first before we turn up the air conditioning.
I found this article that gives just a bit more detail:
GHAZNI CITY - A famous Taliban commander was among militants arrested during an operation in Gillan district of the central Ghazni province on Wednesday.
Major Dost Mohammad, in charge of the operation conducted by the 24th Battalion of the Afghan National Army, said: "We have captured Commander Hazrat Ali, who was intelligence chief of the northern Jawzjan province during the Taliban rule."
Arrested along with Hazrat Ali in Shinaki village were five other fighters, the major told Pajhwok Afghan News. An insurgent was also killed in the weeklong operation focused on Gillan, Nawa and Muqur districts.
"Rebel activities have increased in the area, with Taliban roaming around freely. But the government doesn't have the will and determination to scare away the insurgents stalking the area," Gillan police official Sakhi Dad alleged.
However, Major Dost Mohammad repudiated the claim and insisted the army and police were conducting patrols even in remote villages, frisking suspected people and searching vehicles.
Noor Mohammad, a 35-year-old resident, confirmed security presence in the district to deal with anti-social elements. "They are keeping an eye on suspects," he said.
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.