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Under-count on Nuristan Talib casualties
Follow-up on yesterday's story, which had the Talib count at 12.
NARAY, Afghanistan - US soldiers and warplanes drove off an insurgent attack on a new American base early Wednesday, killing 19 militants in an area where terrorists rebels are trying to resist a push by coalition troops into remote mountains of eastern Afghanistan. The raid on the US base at Kamdesh in the eastern province of Nuristan -- one of the country’s wildest regions -- was staged by terrorists extremists likely belonging to the Hezb-e-Islami terrorist militant group, who attacked from three directions out of forests using rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire, the US military said.

Several hundred soldiers at the base, which lies in a small town but backs onto a sheer mountain face, returned fire with mortars and small arms before jets dropped four 500-pound bombs, ending the clash that lasted more than two hours.

This is the first large, coordinated attack on our base since we arrived three weeks ago,’ said Lt. Joel Rees, 26, of Memphis, Tennessee. When light broke, we found large crater holes from the RPG attack throughout the base and several tents had bullet holes.’

Maj. Tom Sutton, of the 3rd Battalion, 71st Infantry Regiment of the 10th Mountain Division, based in Fort Drum, New York, said at least 19 militants were killed in the battle, the most ferocious he said he had witnessed in the area. A coalition statement said two American soldiers were wounded, but returned to duty after treatment.

It was a very severe attack that indicated that US forces are entering areas where militants had long gone without being attacked,’ Capt. Charles Schwab, 30, of Tionesta, Pennsylvania, said of the assault in Kamdesh. It shows we are making an impact and forcing the enemy to fight to the death.’
Posted by: Steve White 2006-08-10
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=162459