seruriermarshal
04-11-2005, 09:26 PM
US air strikes kill 12 suspected Taliban in Afghanistan
GARDEZ, Afghanistan (AFP) - Twelve suspected Taliban militants died in air strikes by US helicopter gunships and tankbuster jets in southeastern Afghanistan, officials said.
Two members of the US-led coalition were also injured after fighting broke out early Monday in Paktia province, a hotbed of activity by Afghanistan's ousted Islamic regime.
The battle began when insurgents fired a dozen rockets in a bid to kill a former Afghan military chief on a road between Kabul and Gardez, the capital of Paktia province, security commander Ghulam Nabi Salem told AFP.
Kheyal Baaz Khan Sherzai, the ex-military commander of neighbouring Khost province, survived the attack.
"But Afghan forces chased the attackers in the mountains and the fighting began. It lasted until late afternoon," Salem said.
US-led military air support was then called in, he added. Twelve insurgents were killed and their bodies were recovered by local troops and US-led forces.
"We recovered the bodies of 12 Taliban in Shiwak's mountains," Salem said, referring to a mountainous district some 35 kilometers (20 miles) south of Gardez.
The US military confirmed that its air and ground forces were engaged in the incident but did not confirm the Taliban fatalities.
"In Gardez there was a request from coalition forces for assistance. The coalition did assist with A-10s and helicopters," US military spokeswoman Lieutenant Cindy Moore told AFP.
A-10s, nicknamed Warthogs for their ungainly looks, are heavily armed jets famed for their ability to take out tanks and armoured vehicles.
"My understanding is two coalition members were wounded but are in stable condition," Moore said. She did not say how they were injured.
An AFP correspondent in the area saw at least four US helicopters and a jet flying overhead near Shiwak and also heard loud bangs, similar to air bombardment.
The battle comes in the midst of an apparent spring offensive by the Taliban, who have emerged from Afghanistan's harshest winter for a decade to launch a string of attacks on US and Afghan forces.
More than 18,000 US-led forces, including some 2,000 American airmen are based in Afghanistan to help root out the remnants of the Taliban. The US-led coalition ousted the Islamic regime in late 2001.
Sherzai, accompanied by a group of his soldiers who had been disarmed under a government and United Nations-backed programme, were travelling to Kabul when the attack took place.
Meanwhile Afghan forces on Sunday arrested six suspected Taliban fighters in Uruzgan province, also in the restive southeastern Afghanistan, according to a military commander.
"We arrested six Taliban," General Muslim Hamed, military commander of southern Afghanistan told AFP. "We had intelligence about their presence in the area," he added.
Dozens of people, including soldiers, police and civilians have been killed in Taliban-linked violence this year. In 2004 bloodshed blamed on the Taliban left over 850 dead.
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From (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1535&ncid=731&e=7&u=/afp/20050411/wl_sthasia_afp/afghanistanustaliban)
GARDEZ, Afghanistan (AFP) - Twelve suspected Taliban militants died in air strikes by US helicopter gunships and tankbuster jets in southeastern Afghanistan, officials said.
Two members of the US-led coalition were also injured after fighting broke out early Monday in Paktia province, a hotbed of activity by Afghanistan's ousted Islamic regime.
The battle began when insurgents fired a dozen rockets in a bid to kill a former Afghan military chief on a road between Kabul and Gardez, the capital of Paktia province, security commander Ghulam Nabi Salem told AFP.
Kheyal Baaz Khan Sherzai, the ex-military commander of neighbouring Khost province, survived the attack.
"But Afghan forces chased the attackers in the mountains and the fighting began. It lasted until late afternoon," Salem said.
US-led military air support was then called in, he added. Twelve insurgents were killed and their bodies were recovered by local troops and US-led forces.
"We recovered the bodies of 12 Taliban in Shiwak's mountains," Salem said, referring to a mountainous district some 35 kilometers (20 miles) south of Gardez.
The US military confirmed that its air and ground forces were engaged in the incident but did not confirm the Taliban fatalities.
"In Gardez there was a request from coalition forces for assistance. The coalition did assist with A-10s and helicopters," US military spokeswoman Lieutenant Cindy Moore told AFP.
A-10s, nicknamed Warthogs for their ungainly looks, are heavily armed jets famed for their ability to take out tanks and armoured vehicles.
"My understanding is two coalition members were wounded but are in stable condition," Moore said. She did not say how they were injured.
An AFP correspondent in the area saw at least four US helicopters and a jet flying overhead near Shiwak and also heard loud bangs, similar to air bombardment.
The battle comes in the midst of an apparent spring offensive by the Taliban, who have emerged from Afghanistan's harshest winter for a decade to launch a string of attacks on US and Afghan forces.
More than 18,000 US-led forces, including some 2,000 American airmen are based in Afghanistan to help root out the remnants of the Taliban. The US-led coalition ousted the Islamic regime in late 2001.
Sherzai, accompanied by a group of his soldiers who had been disarmed under a government and United Nations-backed programme, were travelling to Kabul when the attack took place.
Meanwhile Afghan forces on Sunday arrested six suspected Taliban fighters in Uruzgan province, also in the restive southeastern Afghanistan, according to a military commander.
"We arrested six Taliban," General Muslim Hamed, military commander of southern Afghanistan told AFP. "We had intelligence about their presence in the area," he added.
Dozens of people, including soldiers, police and civilians have been killed in Taliban-linked violence this year. In 2004 bloodshed blamed on the Taliban left over 850 dead.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1535&ncid=731&e=7&u=/afp/20050411/wl_sthasia_afp/afghanistanustaliban)