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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| 9 Taliban dead, 14 captured |
| 2004-03-07 |
| US-led forces in Afghanistan have killed nine suspected militants and captured 14 others in two separate operations in south-eastern Afghanistan, a US military spokesman said on Saturday. The nine suspected Taliban fighters were killed on Friday near a coalition base in the town of Orgun near the Pakistani border when they "attempted to flank" the base, Lt-Col Bryan Hilferty told journalists in Kabul. "Friday, a platoon-sized around 40 enemy unit attempted to flank a coalition position east of Orgun. We engaged the unit, killing nine anti-coalition militia," he said, adding that there were no coalition casualties during the clash. Hilferty said that troops from Afghanistan’s national army were also involved in the operation against the militants, who numbered around 40 and were armed with light weapons. Separately 14 suspects were captured on Thursday during a US air assault on a compound north of Khost city, Hilferty said. He said that there was no exchange of fire between the US-led soldiers and the suspects. He said some 100 mortar rounds and other ammunition were seized from the compound. The detainees were under interrogation at an undisclosed location. Elsewhere, unidentified gunmen shot dead an Afghan aid worker in Zabul province, a senior official said. Dr Isha Khan, 33, director for the Red Crescent Society, came under fire as he travelled by vehicle from his office to his village home. Zabul Governor Khial Mohammed Husseini told The Associated Press that Khan’s brother, who was travelling in the vehicle, survived unhurt but was in shock. The attack happened at around 5:00 pm on a road between the main town in Zabul, Qalat, and Khan’s home village of Nokhaiz, which lies about 15 kilometres to the north. Husseini said that it was not immediately clear whether it was an attack by Taliban insurgents who are active in much of southern Afghanistan, or if it arose from a personal conflict. He said troops had been sent to the area to investigate. Afghan security forces launched a search for a Turkish engineer kidnapped by suspected Taliban militants who also shot dead another Turk and an Afghan security guard, an official said. The two Turkish engineers were ambushed on Friday in the Sha Joy area of Zabul province. Their Afghan driver was also kidnapped. "The investigation is ongoing, we have sent our troops into the two suspected areas of Shah Marzai and Naw Bahar districts," Husseini told AFP. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #3 You catch ten, cut nine of them off at the knees and neck, beat the bodies to a bloody pulp, pour kerosene on them and burn them with a pig until there's nothing left. Then you tell the tenth one that "If we catch you or any of your friends ever again, next time, we won't be Mr. Nice Guy" |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2004-3-7 7:15:29 PM |
| #2 keep one to |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-3-7 1:37:49 PM |
| #1 Come on, guys - you're falling down on the job. It should be 23 Taliban dead (and none captured). But keep trying! We like to encourage effort. :-p |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-3-7 12:01:15 PM |