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| British Forces attacked by Taliban (not from Azzam |
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| mujaahid |
| 03/22/02 at 02:53:56 |
| This is from the Independant.co.uk website!! Taliban and al-Qa'ida fighters have carried out an attack on American troops and British special forces at their base in eastern Afghanistan just days after the Pentagon claimed the enemy had been resoundingly defeated in the region. Three allied Afghan soldiers were killed and an American soldier was injured in the sustained attack at the airfield in Khost, an area adjacent to the one where the Americans carried out their recent offensive. The operation, codenamed Anaconda, had been described by General Tommy Franks, the US commander of the Afghan war, as an "unqualified and absolute success". Part of the Royal Marines-led British expeditionary force will be deployed in Khost, and the attack on the airbase has reinforced fears held by senior British officials that the United States has exaggerated its "success" and inflated the body count. About a dozen members of the Special Air Service are thought to have been at the Khost base when the attack took place, but none are believed to have been injured. Hours before the attack on Tuesday night, Taliban and al-Qa'ida fighters had exchanged fire with allied Afghan fighters in the main town market, killing one person and injuring three others. The Taliban and al-Qa'ida fighters used mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, and heavy machine guns in the night assault, and were only driven off after two hours when the Americans called in air support. Their AC-130 gunships attacked targets with machine guns and 105mm cannons, illuminated by flares from a B-1 bomber. The three Afghan soldiers were killed at a checkpoint just outside the base and the American soldier, from the 101st Airborne Division, was shot in the arm at a post nearby. A US army spokesman, Major Bryan Hilferty, said at Bagram airbase: "Al-Qa'ida and Taliban extremists attacked coalition forces, who included Americans. The fighting was in the vicinity of the airfield. We returned fire." More than a thousand US and Canadian ended Operation Anaconda this week after blowing up and sealing off a network of caves. Allied Afghan commanders had dismissed American claims that hundreds of enemy fighters have been killed. Instead, they claim, most have managed to escape the offensive and are regrouping. A number of American servicemen were also hurt when an MH-53 special forces helicopter in which they were travelling made a "hard landing" in southern Afghanistan. US authorities said enemy action was not thought to be responsible. General Franks was in Moscow yesterday to meet the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and the Defence Minister, Sergei Ivanov. Afterwards he said, that the security situation in Afghanistan was under control, but needed careful monitoring. In Ankara, the US Vice-President, Dick Cheney, said that Turkey was close to agreeing to take over the lead role in the International Security Assistance Force in Kabul. |
| Re: British Forces attacked by Taliban (not from A |
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| bhaloo |
| 03/22/02 at 08:06:54 |
| [slm] What is the link for the article? |
| Re: British Forces attacked by Taliban (not from A |
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| mujaahid |
| 03/22/02 at 11:14:52 |
| [wlm] http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia_china/story.jsp?story=276789 |
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