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Afghan and U.S. Troops Overrun Taliban
Afghan and U.S. troops overran three suspected Taliban positions and pinned down fighters in a cave Tuesday as fighting raged on in southern Afghanistan, the U.S. military and an Afghan commander said. American bombing echoed through the mountains as the troops tried to root out hundreds of Taliban holdouts who have offered a week of fierce resistance. Coalition forces clashed with five- and 10-strong groups of fighters firing small arms and rocket-propelled grenades, U.S. military spokesman Col. Rodney Davis said. The troops had cornered a group of insurgents in a cave and were attacking it Tuesday afternoon using small arms fire, artillery and air support.
Pity we don’t have flamethrowers anymore.
There were no reported coalition casualties in the latest fighting, Davis said. He had no details on Taliban casualties. Gen. Haji Saifullah Khan, the main Afghan commander in the battle area in Zabul province’s Dai Chopan district, said U.S. warplanes and helicopter gunships hammered Taliban positions until shortly before dawn Tuesday. Khan said the Taliban had been pushed back from three hideouts Tuesday but were continuing to hunker down, using the rough terrain as their shield. "It’s a huge mountain with many gorges in it. It provides very excellent shelter against bombing," said Khan, who spoke to The Associated Press by satellite phone from the front lines. The commander said his men would offer the Taliban in other hideouts a chance to surrender — then move in. "We have tightened our siege. We are very close to the Taliban positions," he said. "We will try to make them surrender. If they do not surrender then fighting will start."
Let’s not have another Tora Bora, shall we?.
Khan said U.S. warplanes targeted the Sairo Gar mountain area. His ground troops found bedding and turbans but no weapons at the three locations — Kafir Shaila, Kabai and Ragh.
If they left their turbans, you know they left in a hurry...
There was no ground fighting as the Taliban simply retreated from their positions. The U.S. military has been involved in the fighting since it began about eight days ago. Since Saturday, they have dubbed their role in the skirmishes as "Operation Mountain Viper." The military said U.S. special operations forces and soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division were involved along with close air support. The military would not say how many U.S. soldiers were involved in the fighting, though Afghan officials have put the number at several hundred. "As a result of the offensive, several anti-coalition elements have fled the area making them more vulnerable to attack," Davis said in a statement from Bagram Air Base, the coalition headquarters in Afghanistan.
Have to expose yourself in order to run.
Betcha Mullah Omar was among those running from their Famous Victory™...

Posted by: Steve 2003-09-02
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=18241