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Fighting in Afghanistan Leaves 13 Dead
Suspected Taliban fighters attacked a government checkpoint in northwestern Afghanistan, starting fighting that left at least 13 combatants dead, a military commander said Wednesday. About 400 gunmen attacked the checkpoint Tuesday in Tora Shaikh in the northwestern province of Badghis near the border with Turkmenistan, said Mohammad Karim Khadem, a brigade commander in the area. Seven attackers and six government soldiers were killed in fighting on Tuesday and Wednesday, Khadem said. A commander in neighboring Herat province, Ammanullah Khan, gave a different version of events and suggested the fighting was ethnically motivated. Ethnically motivated fighting in Afghanistan? Who'd thunk? Ammanullah Khan, a Pashtun, said forces loyal to Tajik warlord Ismail Khan, who also is governor of Herat province, began attacking the Pashtun village of Atashan in Badghis province on Tuesday. He said Ismail Khan's forces captured Atashan and burned scores of houses before advancing toward nearby Mangan on Wednesday, where he said fighting was continuing. Fighting has rarely been reported in Badghis province. Ammanullah Khan said the area was inhabited mostly by Pashtuns. Maybe the fighting is rarely reported because it's so common? Forces loyal to Ismail Khan have clashed repeatedly with those of Ammanullah Khan since the former Taliban regime was ousted in a U.S.-led war in 2001. Like I said, common. Posted by: Steve 2003-03-26 |
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