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| Afghanistan |
| 160 Talibs Killed Since Sunday |
| 2007-07-26 |
| BAGRAM, Afghanistan (Courtesy of CJTF-82 PAO, July 26, 2007) – An element of 1st Brigade, 205th Afghan National Army Corps, combat-advised by Coalition forces, killed more than 50 enemy fighters during a combat patrol on the western side of the Helmand River in Helmand province during a battle that lasted more than 12 hours and finished early this morning. Taliban insurgents engaged the ANA-led patrol 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) north of Qal’eh-ye Gaz, a village in Helmand province. During the course of the battle, the insurgents attacked from 16 separate compounds using heavy machine guns, rocket propelled grenades and small-arms weapons. The Afghan National Security Forces and Coalition forces immediately returned fire and called in close air support to destroy the enemy fighters within the compounds. Coalition air support dropped two bombs on the compounds with the greatest concentration of insurgents. Both compounds produced significant secondary explosions immediately suggesting a large quantity of explosive material was present in each. Insurgents routinely hide explosive material used to make IEDs in compounds within populated areas. Throughout the evening, the insurgents arrived using a wadi system from Musa Qala to reinforce the established enemy positions. The combined force maneuvered to defendable positions and directed close air support aircraft to continue obliterating the identified Taliban militia positions. No more bombs were dropped during the engagement. As the battle concluded, more than 50 insurgents were confirmed killed with an unknown number wounded. Sixteen Taliban compounds, three enemy motorcycles and five enemy trucks were destroyed as well. Intelligence suggests a heavy concentration of Taliban insurgent fighters in the Musa Qala area. They are using Musa Qala as a base of support and it is believed that they will stay and defend the area rather than use their normal hit-and-run tactics. Since Sunday, more than 160 insurgents have been killed in the vicinity of Musa Qala. The combined force suffered just one casualty, a broken hand by a Coalition Soldier. There were no Afghan civilian injures reported. “The enemies of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan continue to deliberately put innocent Afghans into harms way by attacking ANA and Coalition Forces in populated areas,” said Army Maj. Chris Belcher, a Combined Joint Task Force- 82 spokesperson. “We are taking every possible precaution to avoid harming non-combatants. Our aircraft engaged legitimate enemy targets during this engagement to minimize the potential of Afghan casualties. Further, with the lack of any combined force injuries inflicted by the Taliban, this engagement is another humiliating defeat for the enemies of Afghanistan” |
| Posted by:Chuck Simmins |
| #7 I have often thought a possible supporting strategy would be to allow the Taliban to have a section of Afghan for their own as long as they don't molest the rest of the country. That way the inhabitants can live under a Sunni Islamic Paradise. |
| Posted by: mhw 2007-07-26 12:47 |
| #6 Further, with the lack of any combined force injuries inflicted by the Taliban, this engagement is another humiliating defeat for the enemies of Afghanistan |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-07-26 11:04 |
| #5 I might add that it is also useful to estimate, when an enemy leader is captured or killed, their approximate equivalent military rank. Zarqwari would have been perhaps a General (4-star), with the various Emirs of big cities being Major Generals or Brigadiers. "Senior al-Qaeda leader" could be thought of as a Major to a Colonel in rank. "Cell Leader" or "IED or car bomb facilitator" as a Captain or Major. You can see how much punishment they have received in Iraq, this way. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-07-26 10:39 |
| #4 This is why I prefer to think of it in terms of military units. 8-13 Squad 25-60 Platoon 70-250 Company 300-1,000 Battalion 2,000-3,000 Regiment 3,000-5,000 Brigade 10,000-20,000 Division 30,000-50,000 Corps 50,000-60,000 Army Looking at Iraq and Afghanistan, if the enemy were a conventional army, what would you estimate their total losses so far? It is actually less important that you look at our losses vs their loses, than to imagine the impact of their losses on their ability to wage war. That is, what remains of al-Qaeda is mostly replacements, their original leadership having been so annihilated that few remain. But the new ones are far less experienced or skilled than the many who fought Russia in Afghanistan. The average age of their leaders is probably 22 years old and falling. They have no experienced leaders of any kind who have successfully accomplished *any* offensive operation. They have *always* lost their battles, and usually with great loss of life. None of their tactics have proven militarily significant. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-07-26 10:22 |
| #3 While this is a kill ratio we can definitely live with, the kill rate is still much too low to win a war by killing - we still have to succeed in converting the people to desire (or at least tolerate) peace in order for us to 'win'. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2007-07-26 09:38 |
| #2 Great news, Chuck. I guess your request for a body count ignited an overkill of sorts. 160 to 0 ! ONE HUNDRED and SIXTY to ZERO ! 'Hey guys, somebody named Chuck in the US wants body counts.' |
| Posted by: wxjames 2007-07-26 09:36 |
| #1 “The enemies of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan(including DoD lawyers) continue to deliberately put innocent Afghans into harms way by attacking ANA and Coalition Forces in populated areas,” said Army Maj. Chris Belcher, a Combined Joint Task Force- 82 spokesperson. There, a little added detail. |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2007-07-26 09:16 |