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| Afghanistan |
| Airstrike near Pak border kills 4 Taleban militants |
| 2006-05-09 |
| KABUL, Afghanistan - Airstrikes on a cave complex near Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan killed four Taleban militants and destroyed a truck loaded with rockets, the US military said. Military officials in Pakistan at first said helicopters fired missiles into Pakistani territory, and that officials had opened an investigation into whether US aircraft were involved. But Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan, Pakistan’s top army spokesman, later Monday said no missiles had landed in Pakistan. He did say that three Pakistani tribesmen were wounded on the Afghan side of the border and were taken to a hospital. Lt. Col. Paul Fitzpatrick, a US military spokesman, said the strike was one or two kilometers (miles) inside the Afghan border. A US military statement said coalition forces were in direct communication with Pakistani forces on the other side of the border during Monday’s operation. Past US strikes into Pakistan’s territory have strained relations between the two countries. “It was close to the border, within a kilometer (mile) or two. But we have GPS (global positioning systems). We know where the borders are of the two counties,” he said. Before the strike, a joint team of US ground forces and Afghan soldiers observed individuals loading a truck near the cave with rockets, a military statement said. A patrol sent to investigate after the strike was fired on by one militant, who was captured, the US military said. More militants could be buried under the rubble in addition to the four militants known to have been killed, the military said. The American military has previously fired munitions into Pakistani territory, straining relations between it and its partner in the war on terror. A failed Jan. 13 US missile attack aiming to take out Al Qaeda No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri in the remote northwestern Pakistani town of Bajur killed the fugitive’s relative and about 15 others, including a dozen residents. Pakistan has maintained it wasn’t given advance word of the airstrike, which the Americans have yet to confirm. Many Pakistanis viewed the attack as a violation of the nation’s sovereignty. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry lodged a protest with the US and demanded no such attacks be launched again. The Pakistan-Afghan border, which runs through rugged mountains and deserts, is unmarked in places, and gunfire and bombs fired by US soldiers and fighter jets in Afghanistan have landed in Pakistani territory in the past. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #6 The article picked up most of the CentCom release, but left this out: "U.S. Air Force A-10 fighter aircraft and a Predator unmanned aerial vehicle, assigned to the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing, Afghanistan , were directed to engage the cave complex. "The A-10 and Predator expended precision-guided munitions against the target, effectively sealing the cave from future use. “The immediate response by these aircraft demonstrates the effectiveness of our combined air support for joint operations in theater,” said Royal Air Force Air Commodore Mark Swan, director of the Combined Air Operations Center . “Our message is very clear to those who attack innocent civilians and coalition forces: you have a choice. If you continue your terrorist activities, we will find you, we can track you, and we will take all appropriate actions to stop you.” I like the A-10 and think you should give credit where credit is due. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2006-05-09 18:23 |
| #5 Many Pakistanis viewed the attack as a violation of the nationÂ’s sovereignty. PakistanÂ’s Foreign Ministry lodged a protest with the US and demanded no such attacks be launched again. Dang...my "give-a-s**t" meter's reading zero. |
| Posted by: anymouse 2006-05-09 15:53 |
| #4 Hey no fair! Rocket miners need to make a living too. Besides, it pays better than IED miner pay in Iraq, or Suicide belt mining in Israel. |
| Posted by: mcsegeek1 2006-05-09 14:53 |
| #3 Good one, RD. Drill ye terriers drill. And blast and fire and drill ye terriers drill. [IIRC] |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2006-05-09 11:14 |
| #2 Just your typical poor Pakistani rocket miners who got blown up hope the miners wages were docked for the time they were up in the sky. |
| Posted by: RD 2006-05-09 11:01 |
| #1 Just your typical poor Pakistani rocket miners. Odds are the rockets would have been taken back and used in North Waziristan. |
| Posted by: ed 2006-05-09 10:46 |