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61 Talibs Toes Up
Members of the 205th Afghan national army corps, advised by coalition forces, killed more than 60 insurgents during combat operations near the Musa Qalah Wadi in Helmand Province today.This makes about 300 plus in the last month in this one area. The combined force was conducting a combat patrol in the vicinity of Regay Village in an effort to clear the area of extremist Taliban. Several dozen insurgents attacked the convoy from an extensive trench system and several compounds with small-arms, machine gun, mortars and RPG fire. Taliban fighters reinforced their fighting positions from the village of Musa Qalah throughout the day-long battle. The ANSF-led force repelled the initial attack with accurate small-arms and crew-served weapons fire. As the enemy force continued to reinforce their positions with additional fighters and attack the Afghan national security forces and coalition forces from the buildings with machine gun fire, the ground force commander requested coalition artillery and close air support. Coalition aircraft and artillery effectively engaged the positively identified Taliban positions. The initial estimate by the ground force commander assessed that more than 61 insurgents were killed in the engagement. Afghan national security forces, and their coalition partners, continue to hunt down the enemies of peace and stability in Helmand Province, said Army Maj. Chris Belcher, a Combined Joint Task Force- 82 spokesperson. The end is near for the Taliban that believe Musa Qalah is safe from Islamic Republic of Afghanistan forces. This combined operation is just one more step to securing the Musa Qalah area of the Helmand Province. One coalition service member was killed and four others were wounded in this engagement. There are no other reports of ANA, coalition or non-combatant killed or injured. Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2007-09-25 |
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