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| Afghanistan |
| U.S. Detains Four Tough Guys In Afghanistan |
| 2002-07-16 |
| U.S. soldiers equipped with gas masks detained a man Tuesday in an eastern Afghan village where four days earlier they had detained three men suspected of having links to al-Qaida or the Taliban. About 150 troops swooped into Hesarak in helicopters loaded with medical supplies. Two medics distributed bandages and aspirin to villagers, while the remaining U.S. forces stood guard around the village or patrolled the area. Three people were detained Tuesday, and two were later released. "We have reason to believe that there's al-Qaida, Taliban presence in this compound,'' said Lt. Col. Patrick Fetterman. "We have reasonably good intelligence that something is going on here.'' Apparently not too wholesome, either, if they needed gas masks... Troops watched carefully as two tanks and personnel moved along a mountain near Hesarak, 60 miles southwest of the Afghan capital of Kabul in the Nangarhar province. They called in two FA-18 fighter jets for backup when the tanks starting moving. No shots were fired. Wonder whose tanks they were? The local warlord's? Villagers said they were happy the Americans were there. But some villagers complained the three men detained last week were not guilty of anything and had no links to al-Qaida or the Taliban. Oh, they never do, do they? |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |