" Dean : AAAAAaaaaaaagggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh,,,,, I knew it ,,, I just knew it, why oh why don't my D.N.C buddies ( the Taliban ) cohorts won't listen and say away from the US military,,,, AAAAaaaggggghhhh "
Posted on 09/03/2006 8:58:42 AM PDT by 69ConvertibleFirebird
Edited on 09/03/2006 7:24:47 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — NATO and Afghan forces killed more than 200 suspected Taliban guerrillas with air strikes and artillery fire in a major offensive in a volatile province in southern Afghanistan, the alliance said Sunday.
A statement said four soldiers with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force also died and seven were wounded in the fighting in Panjwayi district, about 10 miles from the city of Kandahar.
The casualty counts could not be independently confirmed because the government ordered vehicles to stay off roads leading to the area and reporters were unable to gain access to the battle zone. There was no indication of bodies being taken to local hospitals.
"Reports indicate that more than 200 Taliban fighters have been killed since Operation Medusa began early Saturday morning," the NATO force said in a statement.
OK... I'm a believer (Christian) and all but that picture gives me the heebie jeebies. Dirt road, middle of nowhere, sigh looking like it was written with blood, banjos starting to play in the background...
Probably just a home owner tired of having his house egged.
Good job! Looking forward to more of the same.
It's probably too much to ask the media, but it would be nice if it was acknowledged that it's primarily Canadian troops on the ground kicking these Talibastards butts.
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) -- Afghan and NATO forces killed more than 200 Taliban fighters in a major operation in southern Afghanistan, NATO said Sunday.
Four soldiers with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force were killed and seven others were wounded in the fighting in Kandahar province, a statement from the alliance said.
"Reports indicate that more than 200 Taliban fighters have been killed since Operation Medusa began early Saturday morning. This figure was arrived at by reviewing information from ISAF surveillance and reconnaissance assets operating in Panjwayi and Zhari districts as well as information reported by various Afghan officials and citizens living nearby," it said.
More than 80 suspected Taliban fighters were captured by Afghan police and a further 180 insurgents were seen fleeing the district, the statement said.
NATO said there were no reports of civilian casualties, despite the heavy weight of fire being used.
An Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman, Gen. Zahir Azimi, said earlier in the day that a number of civilians were killed.
A NATO spokesman, Maj. Scott Lundy, said NATO and Afghan troops had gained ground during Operation Medusa and had disrupted the militants' command and control so their fighters were moving in a confused way.
On Saturday, a reconnaissance plane supporting the offensive crashed, killing all 14 British military personnel on board. NATO said the plane was not brought down by hostile fire.
You can count 200 islamic terrorist off the Democrat voter roll.
Naaaaaahh .......save it for Christmas Day.
That "summer offensive" is working-out quite well for the troglodytes.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1597505/posts
4 Canadian soldiers were killed in this engagement.
Always a good number to wake up to.
I was having a reflective moment here reading this topic - and wondered what kind of mental hell I would be in these days without Free Republic and Fox News.
Slim pickens without either so my personal thanks to those who labor here keeping the truth available and to Fox who stands courageously above the rubble of innuendo and rumor.
Go RCRs
You said Slim Pickens.
200 done, and what do you get?
A lot of joy, from ragheads dead.
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=eec19083-1ee4-454d-8328-20999aa46f6d&k=11529
Canadians launch major offensive in Kandahar
Donald McArthur
CanWest News Service
Saturday, September 02, 2006
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Hundreds of Canadian soldiers backed by coalition troops and their Afghan allies launched a major offensive Saturday to drive Taliban insurgents from a stronghold west of here they use as a staging ground for deadly ambushes and terror attacks in Kandahar City.
The Canadian-led Operation Medusa, a month in the planning, seeks to drive insurgents away from the volatile Taliban hotbeds of Zhari, Panjwaii and Pashmul near the lush fields lining the dry Arghandab River so that civilians who have fled their homes over the past four months can return.
"This operation is about removing the threat of armed militants so that displaced villagers can return to their homes and reestablish their livelihoods without living in constant fear of the Taliban,"
said Colonel Fred Lewis, deputy commander of the Canadian contingent here.
"It is expected to continue for some time, dependent, of course, upon the level of Taliban resistance."
The area, an insurgent hotbed some 30 km west of Kandahar City, has been the site of fierce and fatal fighting over the past four months involving Canadian troops that has left six Canadian soldiers dead and dozens more wounded.
The area has spiritual and symbolic significance to the Taliban and is considered key ground for exerting control on Highway 1, a vital economic artery, and on Kandahar City, the economic centre of southern Afghanistan and the country's second-largest city.
The disputed area of clustered villages, maze-like fences, mud-walled compounds, orchards and grape-drying huts is militarily defensible and characterized by the Canadian military as "complex" or "tough"
terrain.
But even though insurgents had time to dig in given advance warnings about the looming onslaught, Col. Lewis predicted they would be hammered by coalition forces that are superior in number and weaponry, including artillery, air support, attack helicopters and surveillance assets.
"We will have overwhelming overmatch here," said Col. Lewis.
"They will lose."
Saturday's fighting involved recently arrived troops from the Royal Canadian Regiment, Afghan security forces and assets from at least four other NATO countries.
Coalition forces have struck significant blows against insurgents in the area several times before only to withdraw and watch as militants overran the mud-walled villages they fled. But this time will be different, the coalition promised, because they will drive the insurgents away and remain in force to keep them out.
"What's absolutely critical this time around is that we stay and when I say stay, I don't necessarily mean Canadians but Afghans," said Col. Lewis.
"The Afghan National security forces, once the area is cleared of Taliban, will stay and they will provide that security, they will provide that secure, firm base that allows the Afghan citizens to come back to their homes and then reconstruction and development can commence."
Coalition forces took the unusual step of convening a press conference for local journalists Thursday where they warned any civilians left in the area to flee their homes before the fighting began in earnest.
They also air-dropped at least two batches of leaflets carrying similar warnings. The warnings were directed at civilians but were also aimed at convincing any skittish or fairweather Taliban to lay down their arms before battle.
"Might they just fade away?" said Col. Lewis. "If they're smart they will."
Coalition forces have been studying the "pattern of life" in the area and, based on discussions with village elders, security forces and the the governor of Kandahar province, believe the area is now "devoid of civilians" and populated only with insurgents and their "camp" supporters, said Col. Lewis.
The coalition has set aside $US 500,000 to provide refugees with food, blankets and water and to repair any infrastructure, including fields, wells and irrigation pipes, that may be damaged in the fighting.
Four Canadian soldiers -- Cpl. Christopher Reid, Pte. Kevin Dallaire, Sgt. Vaughn Ingram and Cpl. Bryce Jeffrey Keller -- were killed in a fierce battle in the same volatile region Aug. 3. Corporal Anthony Boneca was shot and killed there July 9th and Capt. Nichola Goddard, the first female Canadian soldier killed in combat, was killed there May 17th.
Operation Medusa comes on the heels of Operation Mountain Thrust, a six-week operation involving Canadian, British, American and Afghan soldiers in the mountains of Southern Afghanistan that began in June and wrapped up in late July when control for the volatile south was transferred from the U.S. to NATO.
The coalition claimed its forces had killed, wounded or caught more than 1,100 insurgents and that the operation had "successfully disrupted enemy lines of communication by targeting leadership and maintaining pressure on insurgents who remained in a reactive posture due to coalition attacks."
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