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| Afghanistan | |
| Fighting kills 34 in Afghanistan | |
| 2006-05-21 | |
| KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Militants hiding in a vineyard and armed with machine guns ambushed an Afghan army convoy Saturday, shooting dead four soldiers but losing 15 of their own. Violence elsewhere killed another 15 people - including two French troops and a U.S. soldier. The 34 deaths came amid some of the worst fighting in Afghanistan since the ouster of the Taliban in 2001 and reinforced fears of a resurgence of Islamic extremists. A 24-hour spasm of violence killed some 120 people earlier this week, before calming briefly. It erupted again Friday with six militants, an Afghan soldier and a civilian killed in Helmand province, the main opium poppy-growing region, where drug profits are believed to fund the insurgency, said Gen. Rehmatullah Raufi, military commander for the south. Hours later in the same area, insurgents crouching among fields of grapevines and wheat opened fire on a half-mile-long convoy of Afghan army trucks as they snaked their way slowly along a dirt road with reinforcements, he said. The two sides exchanged fire with machine-guns and AK-47 assault rifles for six hours before the insurgents fled on foot and motorbikes, the general said. When it was over, 15 rebels and four soldiers lay dead, while 13 troops were still missing, an army officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
"Nine soldiers were trapped in the area. They resisted until about four o'clock in the afternoon but finally they were killed by the Taliban," the commander said on condition of anonymity. About 20 Taliban fighters were killed or wounded in the fighting, defence ministry spokesman General Mohammad Zahir Azimi told reporters on Sunday, refusing to immediately comment on the Afghan army casualties. The militants ambushed a 20-vehicle Afghan army convoy that was leaving another battle in Helmand. Only six vehicles managed to escape, leaving the remainder behind with about 50 men, the commander said today, fearing heavy casualties. Hundreds of extra forces were then rushed into the area, and it is now controlled by the army, Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Zahir Azimi said. Militants ambushed another Afghan army convoy in southern Zabul province Saturday and four rebels were killed as the troops returned fire, Raufi said. The U.S. soldier was killed Friday in Uruzgan province, also in the south, the military said in a statement. Six soldiers were wounded and in stable condition. Lt. Tamara Lawrence, a U.S. military spokeswoman, said the U.S. soldiers were conducting a joint patrol with Afghan forces when they encountered enemy fighters about 10 a.m. Friday. | |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #2 small bands always have the initial edge in an ambush - they choose the site/time/setting. Apparently the Afghans have learned to whack the ambushers after the initial volley, huh? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-05-21 14:39 |
| #1 Nothing is quite as discouraging as a small band of men that will fight and fight well to the bitter end, taking two or three times their number of the enemy. That is, not being able to wipe out even a small band without suffering punitive casualities yourself leads to confusion and doubt. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-05-21 13:54 |