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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| Toe tag for 8 Taliban in Zabul |
| 2004-06-06 |
| US troops and warplanes attacked Taliban rebels besieging a remote checkpoint in southern Afghanistan killing eight militants. American forces also skirmished with guerrillas who attacked them with rockets near the countryâs eastern border, the US military said. The battle for the checkpoint was in Daychopan district of Zabul province, said provincial military commander Naimatullah Khan. Khan said Afghan troops used a satellite phone to call for help when a band of 200 Taliban crept down from the mountains and opened fire on the checkpoint in an area called Hazar Boosth. âCoalition planes bombed the area, and after a four-hour gunfight, the Taliban pulled back into the mountains,â Khan said. âEight of them were killed. Weâve gathered up their bodies and guns.â US military spokesman Lt Col Tucker Mansager confirmed that a group of Marines backed by warplanes had clashed on Friday evening with a âfairly substantial number of militantsâ. Mansager placed the battle some 60 kilometres southeast of Tirin Kot, approximately the same area described by Khan. He had no word on any casualties or details of the fighting. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |