seruriermarshal
06-08-2004, 07:02 PM
Up to 800 Taliban fighting US-led troops in Afghanistan: officials
KABUL (AFP) Jun 08, 2004
Between 500 and 800 suspected Taliban fighters under the command of a notorious one-legged commander are engaged in bloody clashes with Afghan and US-led forces, officials said Tuesday, as US marines fought and killed militants in the south.
Intelligence and military officials told AFP that the insurgents are loyal to one of the ousted Taliban's leaders, Mullah Dadullah, a close lieutenant of the movement's fugitive founder, Mullah Mohammed Omar.
"We believe that Mullah Dadullah has some 500 to 800 men under his command who are mainly operating in the Deh Chopan areas," of Zabul, Kandahar's intelligence chief Abdullah Laghmanai told AFP.
"Most of the attacks were carried out by Mullah Dadullah's men," he said in reference to this week's fierce firefights.
United States marines killed an unknown number of "Taliban fighters" during a fierce firefight in southcentral Afghanistan Tuesday in which five marines were wounded, a military spokesman said.
The troops with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit "continued their assault into the Taliban heartland where they killed more Taliban fighters who were poised to ambush the marines in central Afghanistan," the US military said in a statement.
The fighting occurred as the marines and Afghan soldiers approached an area identified as a likely ambush site near to the marines' base in Tarin Kowt, Uruzgan province some 410 kilometres (254 miles) southwest of Kabul.
Five marines, an Afghan soldier and an interpreter were wounded during the fighting while four enemies were detained.
The US military was unable to confirm the number of militants killed or the how many were engaged in the firefight with the marines.
The week's violence began with militants engaging government and US-led troops last Wednesday in Kandahar's Mian Shin district near Deh Chopan. This incident was followed by almost daily attacks.
On Thursday US-led forces and pro-government troops fought militants in Deh Chopan, with some 17 suspected Taliban killed.
Laghmanai said his agents have reported that Taliban fighters are operating a guerrilla insurgency under Dadullah's command, using the rugged mountainous valley of Deh Chopan as a hideout.
The weekend bloodshed in the former Taliban stronghold has left more than 50 militants dead or wounded, according to General Abdul Wasay, military spokesman for southern Afghanistan.
"In the operation in Mian Shin there were some 150 to 200 Taliban but we now estimate the (total) number at around 500," Wasay told AFP.
"Most of the attacks were planned and carried out by Taliban, maybe by Mullah Dadullah."
The recent attacks, targetting troops and aid workers as well as the United Nations-backed electoral efforts, mark the deadliest string of incidents since August when hundreds of people, mostly Taliban fighters, were killed in Afghan and US-led offensives against militants in Deh Chopan.
Since then, militants have preferred to gather in smaller groups and attack more "soft targets" such as non-governmental agencies and government checkpoints as well as small units of US-led troops patrolling.
"They (Taliban) cannot face troops in battles, the only thing they can do is to attack small units here and there," Laghmanai said.
The coalition has not put a figure on the number of militants they are facing but has repeatedly said that they have not seen insurgents grouping in large numbers since last year.
Mullah Dadullah, who lost a leg during Afghanistan's 1979-1989 resistance against the Soviet invasion, has been reportedly named as the military leader of the remnants of the Taliban by Mullah Omar.
More than 20,000 coalition troops are deployed in Afghanistan to hunt Taliban, Al-Qaeda militants and their allies. They are stationed mainly in the south and southeast, regions dominated by ethnic Pashtun tribes who helped the Taliban to power in 1996.
Since they were toppled by a US-led coalition and Afghanistan's ethnic-Tajik Northern Alliance fighters in 2001, remnants of the Taliban have attacked Afghan and foreign troops supporting President Hamid Karzai's administration.
From (http://www.spacewar.com/2004/040608182030.n7ffxuqq.html)
KABUL (AFP) Jun 08, 2004
Between 500 and 800 suspected Taliban fighters under the command of a notorious one-legged commander are engaged in bloody clashes with Afghan and US-led forces, officials said Tuesday, as US marines fought and killed militants in the south.
Intelligence and military officials told AFP that the insurgents are loyal to one of the ousted Taliban's leaders, Mullah Dadullah, a close lieutenant of the movement's fugitive founder, Mullah Mohammed Omar.
"We believe that Mullah Dadullah has some 500 to 800 men under his command who are mainly operating in the Deh Chopan areas," of Zabul, Kandahar's intelligence chief Abdullah Laghmanai told AFP.
"Most of the attacks were carried out by Mullah Dadullah's men," he said in reference to this week's fierce firefights.
United States marines killed an unknown number of "Taliban fighters" during a fierce firefight in southcentral Afghanistan Tuesday in which five marines were wounded, a military spokesman said.
The troops with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit "continued their assault into the Taliban heartland where they killed more Taliban fighters who were poised to ambush the marines in central Afghanistan," the US military said in a statement.
The fighting occurred as the marines and Afghan soldiers approached an area identified as a likely ambush site near to the marines' base in Tarin Kowt, Uruzgan province some 410 kilometres (254 miles) southwest of Kabul.
Five marines, an Afghan soldier and an interpreter were wounded during the fighting while four enemies were detained.
The US military was unable to confirm the number of militants killed or the how many were engaged in the firefight with the marines.
The week's violence began with militants engaging government and US-led troops last Wednesday in Kandahar's Mian Shin district near Deh Chopan. This incident was followed by almost daily attacks.
On Thursday US-led forces and pro-government troops fought militants in Deh Chopan, with some 17 suspected Taliban killed.
Laghmanai said his agents have reported that Taliban fighters are operating a guerrilla insurgency under Dadullah's command, using the rugged mountainous valley of Deh Chopan as a hideout.
The weekend bloodshed in the former Taliban stronghold has left more than 50 militants dead or wounded, according to General Abdul Wasay, military spokesman for southern Afghanistan.
"In the operation in Mian Shin there were some 150 to 200 Taliban but we now estimate the (total) number at around 500," Wasay told AFP.
"Most of the attacks were planned and carried out by Taliban, maybe by Mullah Dadullah."
The recent attacks, targetting troops and aid workers as well as the United Nations-backed electoral efforts, mark the deadliest string of incidents since August when hundreds of people, mostly Taliban fighters, were killed in Afghan and US-led offensives against militants in Deh Chopan.
Since then, militants have preferred to gather in smaller groups and attack more "soft targets" such as non-governmental agencies and government checkpoints as well as small units of US-led troops patrolling.
"They (Taliban) cannot face troops in battles, the only thing they can do is to attack small units here and there," Laghmanai said.
The coalition has not put a figure on the number of militants they are facing but has repeatedly said that they have not seen insurgents grouping in large numbers since last year.
Mullah Dadullah, who lost a leg during Afghanistan's 1979-1989 resistance against the Soviet invasion, has been reportedly named as the military leader of the remnants of the Taliban by Mullah Omar.
More than 20,000 coalition troops are deployed in Afghanistan to hunt Taliban, Al-Qaeda militants and their allies. They are stationed mainly in the south and southeast, regions dominated by ethnic Pashtun tribes who helped the Taliban to power in 1996.
Since they were toppled by a US-led coalition and Afghanistan's ethnic-Tajik Northern Alliance fighters in 2001, remnants of the Taliban have attacked Afghan and foreign troops supporting President Hamid Karzai's administration.
From (http://www.spacewar.com/2004/040608182030.n7ffxuqq.html)