Posted on 08/04/2007 5:00:30 AM PDT by Dog
KABUL, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- About 100 Taliban rebels including five senior commanders were killed during an air strike in southern Afghanistan, Defense Ministry spokesman Zahir Azimi told reporters Saturday.
Foreign troops carried out an air strike in remote Baghran district of Helmand province on Thursday when many Taliban militants were gathering to watch the execution of several persons accused of cooperating with the government, Azimi said.
About 100 insurgents were killed in the bombardment, he said, adding five senior Taliban commanders including Mullah Rahim, top Taliban commander in Helmand, were among the killed.
Azimi said Mansor Dadullah, top Taliban military commander, was found at the site before the bombing, and Afghan troops were still confirming whether he was killed.
Referring to the incident, the U.S.-led coalition forces said, "During a sizable meeting of senior Taliban commanders, coalition forces employed precision guided munitions on their location after ensuring there were no innocent Afghans in the surrounding area.
Some media reports quoted locals as saying that 200 to 300 persons were killed or injured in the air strike and many were civilians.
The spokesman Azimi refuted this claim, saying only around 150 persons were staying there before the air strike as a reconnaissance plane had detected and at most 10 civilians were there.
He also said foreign troops used "small bombs" in the air raid in order to reduce civilian casualties.
Due to rising Taliban violence, over 3,800 persons have been killed in Afghanistan this year
The meeting site was being watched for at least 24 hours before the strike. They knew who they were aiming at....and I will bet they got him.
Woo-hoo!!
civillians, no such thing in this war....just ask the r.o.p..
WHOO HOOO! Way to go team!
Guess the Taliban doesn’t have to worry about funding their executive pension plan. Becoming a Taliban “leader” is a ticket to an early death.
Now there's a bumper sticker for ya Mr. Edwards.
“.....many Taliban militants were gathering to watch the execution of several persons accused of cooperating with the government, Azimi said.”
Looks like someone else who was “cooperating with the government” turned the tables on them.
If I was going to be executed by the Taliban, I’d love to see those JDAMs raining down. (For about one microsecond, but what the heck.)
Nice!
You have no chance to survive... make your time.
I'm wondering, in a gathering like that, do you hit them with a High Explosive or opt for bombletts or something like a FAE ?
I’d just as soon wait for confirmation from U.S. sources before celebrating.
About 100 innocent civilians attending a wedding were killed during an imperialist air strike in southern Afghanistan, Taliban Ministry spokesman told reporters Saturday.
Well, if FAE produces “Crispy Kooky”s , use that. Perhaps not even 72 virgins will accept that. Even Helen Thomas wouldn’t.
I assume Obama approves? Or would he have rather done it without Pakistani permission... thats right foreign policy that punishes those working with us and rewards those that want to kill us....
Now thats Liberal smarts for ya.
Barry Hussein would definitely NOT approve. He only wants to attack Pakistan. He never said anything about Afghanistan.
ouch! that’s gonna leave a mark.
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