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| Afghanistan |
| Dutch troops engaged in battle in southern Afghanistan |
| 2006-09-07 |
| Dutch troops in Afghanistan were forced to fight when they were attacked at the army base in Kandahar which they have taken over temporarily from Canadian troops, the Dutch newspaper, Trouw, reported Wednesday. On Monday evening some 100 enemy fighters attacked the Martello camp with light weapons and heavy mortars. The camp was attacked again on Tuesday morning. But this was said to have been a "minor action." There were no fatalities among the Dutch troops, said the paper. The Dutch Defense Ministry said an undisclosed number of attackers were killed. Another national newspaper, De Telegraaf, said 10 Taliban soldiers were killed in the attacks. Some 100 Dutch troops have temporarily occupied the camp in the neighboring province of Kandahar because the Canadians and their NATO allies have their hands full with the large-scale operation against Taliban strongholds. Safeguarding the camp is also in the interest of the Netherlands, since Martello is situated on the supply route of the two Dutch camps in Uruzgan, said the paper. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #4 The Dutch were flying F-16's in support of the NATO mission. I wonder if they got to play in the mud? |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2006-09-07 11:12 |
| #3 They're not supposed to be fighting, just "reconstruction": The sending 1,400 Dutch troops to Afghanistan in August was controversial and it eventually won political backing on the understanding the contingent would concentrate on reconstruction in Uruzgan rather than battling the Taliban. Dutch Defence Minister Henk Kamp told MPs last week providing occasional assistance was covered by the mandate agreed by parliament. "There is no question of a structural deployment outside the province of Uruzgan," he said. The Dutch Socialist Party sought clarification of the issue following reports that the regional command of the Nato-led international force wants more freedom to use troops more effectively in southern Afghanistan. |
| Posted by: Steve 2006-09-07 08:10 |
| #2 They only killed ten? Have they no ambition? |
| Posted by: Unaimble Glomoth4491 2006-09-07 07:11 |
| #1 Allahu akbar! |
| Posted by: gorb 2006-09-07 01:56 |