Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

U.S. army says 15 Taliban killed
swissinfo.org ^ | 9-16-03 | Saeed Ali Achakzai

Posted on 09/16/2003 4:50:48 AM PDT by PatrioticCowboy

U.S. army says 15 Taliban killed   By Saeed Ali Achakzai

SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan (Reuters) - At least 15 Taliban fighters have been killed by U.S. and allied warplanes in southern Afghanistan, the U.S. military and an Afghan official say.

The Afghan official said the dead included Mullah Abdur Rahim, a senior Taliban commander who controls the hardline militia's forces in southern Afghanistan, where the Taliban has been most active in carrying out attacks in recent months.

But a former intelligence official from the ousted regime dismissed reports of Rahim's death as propaganda.

The U.S. military, which launched an anti-Taliban campaign called Operation Mountain Viper in late August, said 15 Taliban fighters had been killed by U.S. and allied aircraft in the past 24 hours.

"Coalition ground forces in cooperation with Afghan militia coordinated an engagement of anti-coalition forces in Kandahar province with coalition aircraft operating in support of Operation Mountain Viper," the military added in a statement issued from its headquarters at Bagram air base north of Kabul.

Last week the U.S. military said it had killed up to 124 Taliban fighters since Operation Mountain Viper began, with most of the fighting centred around the Dai Chopan district of Zabul province, which borders Kandahar.

"Fifteen Taliban were killed, including Mullah Abdur Rahim, in Maruf district," Afghan Foreign Ministry official Khalid Khan Achakzai told Reuters, speaking in the town of Spin Boldak in southern Kandahar, near the Pakistan frontier. Mullah Abdul Samad, an intelligence officer in the radical Taliban regime, denied the death of Rahim.

"There have been deaths on both sides but it is wrong that Abdur Rahim has been killed. It is mere propaganda," he said.

Rahim was wounded earlier this year in a clash with Afghan forces in Spin Boldak, and a deputy was appointed to assist him by the fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Omar.

There are about 12,500 troops in the U.S.-led force hunting remnants of the Taliban and the al Qaeda network it sheltered.

Violence has plagued Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban. In just over a month, more than 200 people have been killed, including Taliban guerrillas, soldiers and police, civilians and aid workers.

Reuters


TOPICS: Breaking News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: afghanistan; goodnews; killed; southasia; taliban

1 posted on 09/16/2003 4:50:48 AM PDT by PatrioticCowboy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: PatrioticCowboy; All
Hooray.

This is good news
2 posted on 09/16/2003 4:51:16 AM PDT by PatrioticCowboy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: PatrioticCowboy; Alia; RLK; DB; rwfromkansas; Eaker; Stavka2; mikegi; Nefertiti; seamole; Remole
ping
3 posted on 09/16/2003 4:52:00 AM PDT by PatrioticCowboy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: PatrioticCowboy; RussianConservative; section9
ping
4 posted on 09/16/2003 4:52:40 AM PDT by PatrioticCowboy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: PatrioticCowboy
GREAT.


5 posted on 09/16/2003 4:55:29 AM PDT by Diogenesis (If you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: PatrioticCowboy
Someone beat you by a day...

Afghan Official Says 15 Taliban Killed by U.S.; including a senior commander
6 posted on 09/16/2003 4:56:22 AM PDT by Ex-Dem (batten down the hatchs)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: PatrioticCowboy
Good....15 less.


7 posted on 09/16/2003 6:06:42 AM PDT by Gringo1 (Some days you are the pidgeon....and other days the statue.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: PatrioticCowboy
Just think, this would have been considered major combat with serious diplomatic repercussions under a Gore administration. Had it ever been sanctioned by a President Gore, the casualty numbers would have been reversed as well, due to a lack of critical fire support for troops on the ground. Our soldiers heads would be displayed on pikes by Al Qaeda and the Taliban for the world to see. It would have been a total failure.
8 posted on 09/16/2003 6:16:58 AM PDT by TADSLOS (Right Wing Infidel since 1954)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: PatrioticCowboy
Go ahead...run...we will hunt you down and kill you. You will die in the dirt.
9 posted on 09/16/2003 7:54:28 AM PDT by Khurkris (Ranger On...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: TADSLOS
Agreed! Gore would probably still be trying to "negotiate" with this human froth...

Well done, US Army! Attention all Taliban: To hell with you!
10 posted on 09/16/2003 5:37:39 PM PDT by Levante
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Diogenesis
Last of the Mohicans was a great movie.
11 posted on 09/16/2003 6:14:42 PM PDT by rmlew ("Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Levante
"Violence has plagued Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban"

Yeah, Afghanistan was so peaceful under the Taliban. /sarcasm
12 posted on 09/16/2003 9:57:39 PM PDT by winner3000
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

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.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson