Major operations underway.
http://www.afgha.com/?q=node/2091
ighting tears open Helmand; Major US offensive launched in Kunar
Sun, 04/03/2007 - 04:55 — matt
Source: Afgha.com
Breaking news is coming out of Helmand province where ferocious ongoing fighting is taking place is three districts pitting a massive number of Taliban against British troops. So far witnesses are saying at least two British armored vehicles have been immobilized, possibly destroyed, in the fighting. The districts of Nad-Ali, Gereshk and Sangin have been attacked by Taliban formations.
NATO has responded to the Taliban’s claim of ‘killing four NATO tanks’ by saying “Both vehicles were deliberately disabled by ISAF troops on the ground to render them useless by the enemy. While the vehicles were disabled, they were not done so at the hand of the Taliban. ISAF left the vehicles in tact so we would not cause undue harm to innocent civilians. You'll never hear the Taliban pulling back from an operation because of innocents in the area."
The NATO statement also indicated significant fighting has taken place in Helmand over the last few days and is now reporting the deaths of two NATO soldiers. The pair died during heavy fighting on Saturday but officials declined to share the men's nationalities or wehre the clash took place at.
Helmand province is the latest target of Taliban fighters and currently Musa Qala district and possibly Washir are under Taliban authority. NATO is gearing up for an offensive against the occupied districts in the very near future. The fighting this week, initiated by NATO forces, are likely probing attacks to help pinpoint Taliban weaknesses.
Fighting has been a daily event in Helmand this year as NATO troops attempt to secure the Kajaki dam area in a critical dam restoration project. So far scores of Taliban militants and at least three of their commanders have been killed in Helmand since the new year. The Taliban have recently said they intend to attack southern Afghan provinces, like Helmand and Kandahar, so relentlessly that they capture ‘cities’ by the summer’s end. The threat is considered a long shot but the violence level is expected to surge within weeks. NATO commanders have recently called for another influx of troops and the UK is sending an additional 1,400 troops to help ward off the insurgency.
‘Kunar Offensive’
US troops in eastern Kunar province, long thought to be a hiding and transit point for foreign Arab militants and al Qaeda chieftains, have raided a village called Mandaghel over the last 48 hours. Witnesses describe a devastating display of air and ground attacks leveled at the village thought to contain a ‘High Value Target’ of the al Qaeda variety. The mentioning of Osama Bin Laden and Dr. Ayman al Zawarhiri as being such targets in Mandaghel has not been denied by military officials.
The compound attacked belonged to a local militant identified as Haji Aminullah who has ties to the drug smuggling business and al Qaeda. The initial fighting pitted US ground troops against a withering barrage of heavy weapons and mortar fire from Aminullah’s compound. Later, heavy air power was used to repeatedly strike the compound.
The area is a hot zone of militant activity and rumors have whirled for the last three years that Bin Laden himself drifts between Kunar, Nuristan, the Bajaur tribal agency and nearby Chitral. All four areas contain extreme geographical challenges; severe winter weather, acute elevations (Chitral holds a 25,289 ft high mountain peak), and lacks in drivable roads. The latest news indicating a High Value Target’s presence in the Kunar area is not surprising as Pakistani and US forces have launched raids here in the past hunting for other ‘High Value Targets.’
A disastrous US operation in Kunar during the summer of 2005 resulted in one US helicopter being shot down as they attempted to rescue a 4 man hunter/killer team that was ambushed by a large group of militants. The attack cost the US 19 elite commando/air men. The rouge Taliban commander responsible for the attack, Mullah Ismail, is still on the loose and operates in and around Kunar province.
A missile strike in Damdola (Bajaur agency) in early 2006 nearly killed the Egyptian al Qaeda leader Dr. Ayman al Zawarhiri. Although not in attendance, the spot of the strike did include several Egyptians thought to be high level al Qaeda bombmakers who stood in for Zawarhiri. Damdola is located approximately 35 miles from the ongoing assault in Mandaghel.
Lastly, in October of 2006 a massive air strike in Bajaur targeting al Qadea linked fighters and unknown leadership targets resulted in some 80 people being killed in what is thought to have been a militant training camp. Local authorities, who are closely aligned with the Taliban, claimed the attack killed innocent worshippers at a mosque.
