|
US Says Kills at Least 12 Insurgents in Afghanistan
U.S. forces blasted rebel positions with bombs, rockets and artillery, killing at least 12 insurgents, after rockets were fired at a U.S. base in southeastern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said on Thursday.Helicopters, aircraft and artillery were used to respond to the four rockets fired without effect at the Salerno base in Khost province on Tuesday night, the U.S. military said in a statement. "We were able to see the launching point of the rockets and we brought everything we had to bear on it," U.S. army Major J.R. Mendoza said in the statement. "They shot at us with rockets and we responded with artillery, fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft," he said. The military said two 500-pound bombs, 10 rockets, and hundreds of artillery shells were fired at the rebels, killing more than a dozen. The clash is one of the bloodiest in recent months in Afghanistan, where more than 18,000 U.S.-led troops are pursuing Taliban and al Qaeda militants. The Taliban have been waging an insurgency since being overthrown by U.S.-led forces in late 2001 for refusing to hand over al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, the architect of Sept. 11 attacks on U.S. cities. Guerrilla activity has picked up after a winter lull but activity is down on past years, fueling speculation that the Taliban may be struggling to find recruits and resources. Posted by: ed 2005-04-21 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=61927 |