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| Afghanistan |
| Italian troops attacked in Afghanistan |
| 2003-03-19 |
| Italian troops in eastern Afghanistan say they have come under attack from unidentified gunmen. Correspondents say it is the first serious incident since they took over the Salerno military base from US troops last Saturday. An Italian spokesman said the attack began when troops came under rocket fire. A few hours later a nearby US airbase also came under attack. Camp Salerno is in the province of Khost, close to the border with Pakistan, where hundreds of Taleban and al-Qaeda fighters are believed to be hiding. It came under rocket attack late on Tuesday. Shortly afterwards, a group of armed men approached the camp and the Italian troops opened fire on them. "Security personnel engaged hostile elements, presumably wounding one of them, while the others escaped," Italian military spokesman Lieutenant Gianfranco Oggiano said, the Reuters news agency reports. No Italians were injured in the incident, Lieutenant Oggiano said. Some 500 Italian troops are based at the Salerno camp. It was frequently attacked when it was controlled by US troops. Shortly afterwards, the Chapman Airfield, six kilometres away, was also attacked by unidentified men. US military spokeswoman Captain Alayne Cramer said the attackers withdrew after US troops opened fire. "We don't know if it was the same |
| Posted by:Bulldog |
| #8 Er, not to harsh on Gallic military achievements, but Dien Bien Phu was fought by the French Foreign Legion, not the French Army proper. In fact, I think Frenchmen were formally barred from being Legionnaires at the time. (Since the Legion doesn't require ID to enlist, there were probably a few French citizens present and fighting.) |
| Posted by: SparcVark 2003-03-20 18:55:43 |
| #7 Far be it from me to impede on anyone's French bashing, but take a look at http://www.Dienbienphu.org. Many of them fought bravely. |
| Posted by: Jon 2003-03-19 23:32:45 |
| #6 Good to see them coming out of hiding. Now we might be able to kill all of them |
| Posted by: Jake 2003-03-19 19:17:52 |
| #5 Give the Italian soldiers a little more time at the target range and we won't be reading about wounded jihadis. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2003-03-19 11:55:29 |
| #4 During WWII, my grandfather successfully battled against italian troops until the armistice (well, not single-handedly, but you see my point); later, he joined the resistance then the armed resistance, captured german soldiers, re-joined the army, and fought up to Berlin. He was, and is, french. Stereotypes are funny, but they 're just stereotypes. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-03-19 11:39:11 |
| #3 Agred Fred, The Italians mayn't be the best soldiers in the world, but the less-than-bloodthirsty reputation they gained during WWII shouldn't be exaggerated. I mean, can you blame them for lacking enthusiasm when fighting alongside the Nazis?! |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2003-03-19 10:09:35 |
| #2 I read somewhere a couple days ago that the Italians are Alpini. Guess Hek's boyz believed the unkind stereotypes. |
| Posted by: Fred 2003-03-19 09:49:42 |
| #1 'Shortly afterwards, a group of armed men approached the camp and the Italian troops opened fire on them. "Security personnel engaged hostile elements, presumably wounding one of them, while the others escaped,"' The Italians stood and fought, and the Jihadis ran. Fie on stereotypes. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-03-19 08:27:14 |