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13 Civilians killed in U.S. Shelling of Central Afghanistan
Note: The headline is as it appears on IslamOnLine. The content seems to be at odds with it...Some 13 Afghans were killed in an eight-hour American-Danish shelling of a civilian area in the Baghran area of Helmand province, BBC news online quoted eyewitnesses as saying Wednesday, February 12. Naming a new military offensive as "Operation Eagle Fury," Danish F-16s joined U.S. B1 and B52 bombers and UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters in pounding the mountain valley in central Afghanistan. U.S. special forces seized 12 Afghan fighters in the wake of the bombardment, AFP quoted the U.S. military in Afghanistan as saying. [Takes off shoes for more accurate mathematical calculation...] That makes 25 either toes up or nabbed... The warplanes began bombing the valley shortly after at least 25 Afghan fighters carrying rocket propelled grenade launchers and AK-47 rifles were seen "moving into offensive positions" in the valley. How 'bout that? There were 25 sighted, 25 either waxed or in custody... On Tuesday, February 11, U.S. military spokesman Colonel Roger King said Afghan fighters had taken up positions in mountain caves following their initial attack from ridges overlooking the valley floor. That operation was the biggest confrontation involving the U.S. military in Afghanistan for 10 months. The U.S. believes that fighters loyal to the Hezb-i-Islami party of former Afghan prime minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar are using the Adi Ghar cave warren as a base. This appears to be a different engagement that the one reported yesterday, though sometimes it's difficult to tell. I still haven't caught on to how they're "civilians," unless it's the fact that they weren't wearing uniforms. Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2003-02-12 |
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