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Afghanistan

NATO Launches Winter Offensive

2007-03-06

KABUL, Afghanistan - NATO-led troops launched an offensive against Taliban militants Tuesday in a volatile southern Afghan province where hundreds of militant fighters have amassed. The operation, which will eventually involve 4,500 NATO troops and 1,000 Afghan soldiers, was launched at the request of the Afghan government and will focus on the northern region of Helmand province, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said. "Our first maneuver elements reached their positions at approximately 5 a.m. this morning," said Maj. Gen. Ton van Loon, ISAF's southern commander. Dubbed Operation Achilles, the offensive is NATO's largest-ever in the country. But it will involve only half the number of soldiers who fought in a U.S. offensive in the same region just nine months ago, when some 11,000 U.S.-led troops attacked fighters in northern Helmand province during Operation Mountain Thrust. NATO said that Achilles initially would focus on improving security conditions, but that its "overarching purpose is to assist the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (to) improve its ability to begin reconstruction and economic development." The government has little control over many parts of northern Helmand, and the British troops stationed there fight almost-daily battles with militants. U.S. intelligence officials say Taliban fighters have flooded into Helmand the last several months, and that there are now more fighters there than any other part of the country. The militants overran Musa Qala, in central Helmand province, on Feb. 1 after defying a peace deal between the government and elders reached last fall that capped weeks of fighting. The Taliban still control the town more than a month after the initial attack. British troops also have been battling militants in the nearby district of Kajaki, in northern Helmand, to enable repair work on a hydroelectric dam there, which supplies close to 2 million Afghans with electricity. "Strategically, our goal is to enable the Afghan government to begin the Kajaki project," van Loon, said. "This long-term initiative is a huge undertaking and the eventual rehabilitation of the Kajaki multipurpose dam and power house will improve the water supply for local communities, rehabilitate irrigation systems for farmlands and provide sufficient electrical power for residents, industries and commerce," he said. Helmand is the world's biggest producer of opium, and a new U.N. drug assessment indicates that the this year's poppy harvest could be higher than last year's record output. The U.N. says Taliban fighters protect poppy farmers and tax the crop, deriving much-needed income for their insurgency.

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India-Pakistan

Indian mag predicts war along LoC

2006-08-09

By Iftikhar Gilani NEW DELHI: Forget back channel diplomacy, if the Indian army has its way it will unleash a new “war doctrine” to combat what it describes as Islamabad’s new strategy of “attack by infiltration” into Indian territory beyond Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). According to this month’s issue of Force magazine, the army may attempt to persuade New Delhi to follow the Israeli example in Lebanon and authorise the attack of “terrorist” targets in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. This could include punitive raids against Pakistani posts along the Line of Control (LoC), cross-border pursuit of militants and the crushing of militant training camps. Indeed, the magazine points out that “it is not difficult for the army to attack a nearby Pakistani post on the LoC and bring back their dead to show intruders into Indian territory”, noting that “both sides have attempted this in the past”. Force also stresses that India is “well-prepared to meet Pakistan’s war threat (in retaliation) head-on”, going on to suggest that New Delhi would simply need to allow its military a timeframe of three to four weeks to accomplish its aims before bowing to international pressure for a ceasefire. Thus it warns that the next three months - that is, before winter sets in and the passes in Jammu and Kashmir close for the season - could prove crucial for India’s relations with Pakistan. The magazine also says that the armed forces have taken into account Pakistan’s military weaknesses to ensure the success of their war doctrine. “Should Pakistan decide to enlarge the war theatre to ease pressure on the J&K front, the Indian military will seek to destroy its offensive forces, as well as capture territory inside the Thar desert to be used as a bargaining chip in the aftermath of war,” the magazine says in its unsigned cover story, ‘Peace by Other Means’. Moreover, Force points out that President Musharraf understands this. Thus his offer to help India nab those responsible for last month’s Mumbai train blasts came with a warning to New Delhi to refrain from any hot pursuit across the LoC. In short, “he (Musharraf) is threatening action against likely raids by the Indian Army inside PoK”. The magazine notes that “New Delhi should understand its military strength too”. Army forces stationed in J&K say that following India’s fencing of the LoC and its employment of surveillance equipment in the area – cross-border infiltration has taken on a new guise. According to Lt Gen Deepak Kapoor, the army commander of Northern Commands, “infiltration into J&K is unstoppable as the LoC is no longer the sole route of entering the state as terrorists infiltrate from all available routes and their area of interest is no longer confined to J&K”. Given that terrorism is now spilling into India’s heartland, the magazine says that New Delhi may choose to look beyond diplomatic and intelligence-based solutions to dismantle the ever-expanding tentacles of terrorism. Enter the Indian army, which has stressed that military action be seriously considered if all other options fail. It has pointed out that the country’s armed forces have come a long way since the end of Operation Parakram in 2002, stressing that air, naval and military forces now have “the capability, will and a war winning strategy against Pakistan”. According to Force, the army would use Special Forces deployments, assisted by the Air Force, to win any battle with Pakistan. The magazine also identifies the significant areas of Pakistan’s military weakness that would aid Indian forces in defeating any attempt by Islamabad to expand its war theatre: * The Pakistan Air Force’s capacity to conduct daily sorties is calculated at 260 per day, compared to the Indian Air Force’s potential of 450; * Pakistan’s 11 and 12 Corps (reserves for the Indian theatre) are completely tied down in other ongoing military activities, such as the US-led Operation Mountain Thrust in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Thus most of these forces would be unavailable for any short war with India; * Pakistan is already facing internal dissension in Balochistan; * In operational terms, there are innumerable choke points in the Pakistan army’s lines of communications, rendering them vulnerable to interdiction; * Karachi port remains vulnerable. Thus the race is on in the next three months to determine what the choice will be for India and Pakistan: war or peace?

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Afghanistan

NATO launches first offensive in S. Afghanistan

2006-08-07

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) initiated anti-militants operation in Afghanistan's volatile Helmand province on Sunday, a spokesman of the multinational force said. "An operation was launched early this morning in Musa Qala district, which would continue to expand the security there," Toby Jackman told newsmen here at a press conference. This is the first NATO operation in south Afghanistan since assuming the command from the U.S.-led Coalition forces in the troubled region on July 31. Coalition forces had launched a massive offensive, the Operation Mountain Thrust, against Taliban militants in Afghanistan's southern provinces of Helmand, Kandahar, Uruzgan and Zabul during the past one and half months. More than 1,100 insurgents were killed, wounded or captured in the operation, which was concluded following the handover. But the security is still tough in the south as some 80 people, including eight foreign soldiers, have been killed during the latest violence this week. "ISAF will not be deterred. ISAF would continue its mission to bring security to Afghanistan within its area of operation," Major Jackman emphasized. Musa Qala and Nawzad, Sangin and Garmser districts of Helmand, which are famous for poppy product and Taliban's activities, have been the scene of increasing security incidents as six British soldiers have been killed there over the past one month. One day prior to the NATO's operation, dozens of suspected Taliban militants ambushed Afghan and NATO-led troops on Saturday in Garmser district, one of the two districts they briefly captured last month, leaving 17 insurgents killed and seven others injured after the heavy battle.

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Afghanistan

Coalition Forces Kill Dozens of Militants in Afghanistan

2006-07-30

U.S.-led coalition forces and Afghan police killed 20 suspected Taliban in the latest fighting to hit southern Afghanistan, as NATO on Sunday prepared to take command in the insurgency-wracked region. Afghan forces also killed six militants in southeastern Paktika province, an Afghan official said. On Monday, the U.S. anti-terror coalition is to formally hand over control of security operations to a NATO-led force that has deployed about 8,000 mostly British, Canadian and Dutch troops in the south. The deployment has coincided with the deadliest upsurge in fighting since U.S.-backed forces ousted the Taliban regime in late 2001 for hosting Usama bin Laden, mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. On a visit to Afghanistan on Sunday, French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said many Taliban fighters were crossing from Pakistan to stage attacks. "We need real cooperation from Pakistan, but it seems very difficult for them. The border is a very difficult region and we ask Pakistan to make some more effort to control it," she told reporters in Kabul. Pakistan, a key U.S. ally in its war on terrorism, says it does all it can to patrol the porous Afghan border. On Saturday, a joint force of coalition and Afghan troops killed 20 suspected Taliban militants who had attempted an ambush in Shahidi Hassas district of Uruzgan province, a coalition statement said. There were no casualties among coalition or Afghan forces. Afghan soldiers and police killed six Taliban fighters and captured eight Sunday during a clash in southeastern Paktika province's Waza Khwa district, said Said Jamal, spokesman for the provincial governor. No further details were available. In Kandahar province, three militants blew themselves up Saturday as they laid an explosive on a road, said Daoud Ahmadi, a spokesman for the provincial governor. Another suspected Taliban died Sunday when a land mine he was planting north of Kandahar city exploded, Ahmadi said. Taliban-led fighters have escalated roadside bombings and suicide attacks this year, and have also mounted brazen attacks on several small towns and district police stations — a tactic rarely seen in the previous four years. International forces, backed by the Afghan army, have meted out a tough response. Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Zahir Azimi said a 50-day operation dubbed Mountain Thrust has resulted in the deaths of at least 613 suspected militants. Some 87 others were wounded and about 300 arrested, he said. Azimi said between 13 and 16 civilians had also died. He declined to give details of Afghan and coalition casualties. According to an Associated Press count of coalition figures, at least 19 coalition troops have died in Afghanistan during the same period. British Lt. Gen. David Richards, commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, said Saturday that Operation Mountain Thrust would wind down as NATO takes over in the south, but its force will "keep up the tempo" of operations against insurgents. NATO brings a new strategy to dealing with the Taliban rebellion: establishing bases rather than chasing militants, and is hoping to win the support of local people by creating secure zones where development can take place. But questions remain whether they can quell the violence enough to allow aid workers to get to work in a lawless and impoverished region, where about a quarter of Afghanistan's huge opium crop is grown. Azimi dismissed concern that there would not be enough troops on the ground. He said the Afghan army would maintain three brigades of about 3,000 troops each in the southern provinces of Kandahar, Helmand and Zabul, supporting the NATO forces.

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Afghanistan

U.S.-led offensive against Taliban easing

2006-07-29

U.S.-led coalition forces detained four suspected al-Qaida operatives in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, while a major operation to crush Taliban fighters in the south moved to a close, officials said. The al-Qaida suspects, accused of planning attacks on coalition and Afghan forces, were nabbed near Sal Kalay, a village in Khost province, along with assault rifles and a briefcase containing "extremist-related documents," a coalition statement said. The coalition did not give the suspects' names, nationalities or indicate their seniority within the terror group. The commander of the NATO-led security force in Afghanistan said a massive U.S.-led offensive that has killed more than 600 suspected Taliban in the south will end when NATO takes over command from the coalition in the volatile region on Monday. ??? The 8,000-strong NATO force of mostly British, Canadian and Dutch troops formally takes over in the south from the U.S.-led coalition Monday. Meanwhile, officials said U.S.-led coalition forces and Afghan police killed or wounded 18 suspected Taliban militants in fighting that also left two policemen dead. Fourteen militants were killed or injured by airstrikes and artillery in Garmser district of the southern Helmand province on Thursday, said provincial police chief Ghulam Nabi Malakhel. ... Operation Mountain Thrust will wrap up as NATO steps in, though it will "keep up the tempo" of operations against the insurgents, said British Lt. Gen. David Richards, commander of NATO-led International Security Assistance Force. Since June 10, more than 10,000 Afghan and coalition forces have fanned out across the south in response to an upsurge in Taliban attacks. The coalition said it has killed 600 insurgents, while at least 19 coalition troops have died during the same period, according to an Associated Press count of coalition figures. Richards said he did not expect the coalition — whose primary goal was to fight global Islamic militants like al-Qaida that are active in eastern Afghanistan — to operate for much longer in the south, where the insurgency is led by the Taliban. NATO brings a new strategy for dealing with the Taliban rebellion, establishing bases rather than adopting the coalition tactic of chasing down militants. It wants to bolster the weak government of President Hamid Karzai and win the support of local people by promoting much-needed development. Richards said he hoped that within three to six months there would be signs of progress, creating secure zones in which aid workers could operate in a region mired in the drug trade and poverty. Reconstruction would help people see "the fighting is worth something," Richards told a news conference in Kabul. "I hope people who now are often being intimidated into supporting the Taliban" would have the extra resolve to reject them. He said NATO forces would be "really, really careful" to avoid civilian losses, but would be as tough in defending themselves as the coalition had been. Civilian deaths during coalition military action — often involving air power and heavy weaponry — has complicated the NATO force's task of winning over a skeptical Pashtun tribal populace.

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Afghanistan

Over 600 Suspected Taliban Killed in Southern Afghanistan

2006-07-25

Made you look... KABUL, Afghanistan — More than 600 suspected Taliban militants have been killed since a U.S.-led offensive began last month in southern Afghanistan, a coalition spokesman said Tuesday. Col. Tom Collins said the 600 militants have died in combat since Operation Mountain Thrust started June 10. The offensive is aimed at crushing the deadliest spate of Taliban violence since the hard-line regime's 2001 ouster. Maybe it's our Dread Spring Offensive instead of the Talibunnies? More than 10,000 U.S.-led troops have been operating in former Taliban strongholds across southern Afghanistan. The region has witnessed the brunt of the deadliest upsurge in Taliban-led violence since the hard-line regime's 2001 ouster. The bloodshed also threatens to spread into previously calm western Afghan provinces. If the bloodshed keeps spreading at this rate we may have to face the fact....we're winning

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Afghanistan

Clashes in Sangin Kill 40 Talis

2006-07-16

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) - More than 40 insurgents were killed Saturday as hundreds of coalition troops, many dropped by helicopter, wrested a desert town from the Taliban and U.S. forces battled militants across southern Afghanistan, officials said. Before dawn Saturday, more than 300 British paratroopers, backed by hundreds of U.S. and Canadian forces, launched a raid in Sangin, where hundreds of Taliban had massed in preparation for attacks, said coalition spokesman Maj. Scott Lundy. "Coalition forces killed 10 Taliban and drove the others out, but it is difficult to say if the remainder are still nearby," Lundy said. Gotta get some good tracking dawgs over there... ... and some Kentuckians with long-barrel rifles ... The assault was part of Operation Mountain Thrust, an anti-Taliban offensive involving more than 10,000 U.S.-led troops. Coalition forces will remain in Sangin until the Taliban threat has been wiped out and Afghan authorities can reach out to impoverished residents to promote reconstruction efforts, Lundy said. The Sangin Valley is a "natural corridor" for Taliban and criminal movement in southern Afghanistan, plus opium poppy cultivation, with the Taliban believed to use some of the proceeds to buy weapons, Lundy said.

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Afghanistan

Taliban: "Imagine That We Are Winning. It's Easy If You Try..."

2006-07-12

The Taliban's spring offensive in Afghanistan is now three months old. It is the biggest ever mounted against foreign forces in the country since the Taliban's ouster in 2001, and it has taken a heavy toll on insurgency as well as coalition forces. And, according to one of the Taliban's top 10 commanders who spoke to Asia Times Online, the rising spiral of death is just the tip of the iceberg and the coalition's "Operation Mountain Thrust" in the southwest of the country will be severely challenged. Mullah Gul Mohammed Jangvi (the last name means warrior) said by telephone from Afghanistan the Taliban would once again alter their tactics. Jangvi is one of the 10 members of the command council of the Taliban. "We have had some initial successes, which boosted our morale. Tarood, Sangeen and Musa Qila districts in Helmand province are our recent victories," Jangvi said. "We have set a few priorities, top-most of which is to fight only with foreign forces and avoid fighting Afghans. However, there are Afghans who are top of our [hit] list, like Gul Afghan Sherzai [governor of Nangarhar province], [President] Hamid Karzai and the members of parliament." Jangvi dismissed a question that perhaps the Taliban were on the back foot as they were frequently changing tactics. "In the past few weeks we narrowed down our targets and we are aiming to hit those targets which give us optimum results. In the recent past we tried to attack Kandahar airport and US military bases. This is aimed at rooting out American air power in these stations so that they would not be able to shield their ground troops in a short span of time. In the coming days you will see more and more attacks on airfields, and once air cover vanishes from over the heads of coalition troops, they will be trapped everywhere like sitting ducks."

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Afghanistan

Canadian soldier, 15 militants killed in Afghanistan

2006-07-10

A Canadian soldier and 10 militants were killed on Sunday in fierce fighting near an opium-rich Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan, the military said. The battle took place in Zharew district of the southern Kandahar province, which abuts the Panjwayi area. Canadian and Afghan troops have been battling militants in the area since early Saturday in support of Operation Mountain Thrust, a region-wide offensive targeting Taliban strongholds. Canadian military spokesman Maj Marc Theriault said Cpl Anthony Boneca was killed during a “combined coalition-Afghan operation” early on Sunday. Several hours later, “intense close quarters” fighting broke out nearby, leaving at least five Taliban militants dead and two Canadian soldiers slightly wounded, said another coalition official, A coalition patrol found the bodies of 10 militants on Sunday killed in a coalition air strike in Panjwayi, the military said in a statement. Two Canadian troops were reported wounded in Panjwayi violence on Saturday. Afghan soldiers also arrested four suspected Taliban members, including a local leader identified as Mullah Nazar, in southern Uruzgan province, the Afghan Defence Ministry said in a statement. The troops also confiscated a quantity of explosives and Iranian and Pakistani checks valued at $300,000.

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Afghanistan

15 killed in fighting in southern Afghanistan

2006-07-03

Most of them Taliban, but sadly not all... (KUNA) -- At least 15 people, including 12 militants, two British soldiers and their Afghan interpreter, were killed and four coalition soldiers were wounded in clashes between Taliban and Afghan-coalition forces in southern Afghanistan over the past 24 hours. A coalition statement on Sunday said the injured soldiers were in stable condition. Earlier, British military spokesman Captain Drew Gibson said the soldiers killed when the coalition forces' base was attacked in the Sangin district of Helmand province last night. Identities of the injured soldiers have not been disclosed. The fresh casualties have mounted the number of British soldiers killed in Helmand to five. Britain has taken charge of security in Helmand from the US-led coalition forces about two months back. The dead also include an Afghan interpreter working with the British forces. Meanwhile, police chief of the same province Nabi Mulakhel said a dozen Taliban had been killed in a clash with the Afghan and coalition forces in the same district last night. There is no statement from Taliban on the claim. The police chief did not mention whether he was referring to the same fighting in which the British soldiers were killed or it was a separate clash. The British forces also did not mention the killing of the 12 Taliban. Talking to journalists, Mulakhel said the fight erupted when insurgents attacked a joint patrol of the Afghan police and coalition forces in Sangin. He said the fight, that continued for three hours, left 12 Taliban dead, whose bodies were laying in the area. The recent clashes are part of the "Operation Mountain Thrust", the second phase of which was launched in the southern region on June 15. A day earlier, 10 people, including five coalition soldiers were wounded when their base at the Kandahar airport, came under rocket attack from the insurgents.

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Afghanistan

20 dead in fresh Afghan violence

2006-07-01

(KUNA) -- Fighting between Taliban and Afghan and coalition forces in southern and eastern Afghanistan claimed at least 20 lives and injured several others on Friday. Separately, the US-led coalition forces said they had arrested eight suspected Taliban during a raid in Kandahar carried out as part of the massive "Operation Mountain Thrust." In the eastern and remote province of Nuristan, the US forces attacked a Taliban compound in the Kamdesh area which resulted in killing of 14 militants. A statement by the coalition forces said they had located the insurgents traveling in the area with Kalashnikovs and rocket-propelled grenades. As the armed militants entered their compound, the coalition forces stormed it. Two buildings were fully destroyed in the raid and later 14 bodies of Taliban were recovered, said the military statement. In the southern Helmand province, the coalition forces, in collaboration with Afghan police, clashed with Taliban and killed four of them. The statement said the joint patrol of Afghan police and coalition forces was attacked by Taliban. In the neighbouring province of Kandahar, the coalition forces said they had arrested eight suspected Taliban and killed one during a raid on their hideout last night. The raid was part of the ongoing "Operation Mountain Thrust" and was jointly conducted by the Afghan and coalition forces. The military statement said the detainees were involved in planning and carrying out attacks on coalition and Afghan forces in Kandahar and Helmand.

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Afghanistan

Fracture In Taliban Forces Reported By Canadians

2006-06-28

Taliban fighters have had a falling-out in one of their strongest mountain redoubts in northern Kandahar province, with one faction apparently prepared to give up the fight against Canadian combat forces deployed in the area, coalition officials say. "What I'm seeing is very positive here. There has been a split in the local leadership," said Lt.-Col. Ian Hope, commander of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry battle group. "There are indications that one group does not want to fight any more. There have been yelling matches with words that are not characteristic in the culture. That is tremendous for the people here and has really boosted our morale." The Canadian battle group is wrapping up its part in Operation Mountain Thrust, which has been the biggest coalition offensive in Afghanistan in more than four years. The operation has involved Canadian, American, British and Dutch forces moving into remote Taliban-held areas across Afghanistan's four southern provinces to counter a large and violent push by Taliban insurgents infiltrating back into the country from Pakistan. The offensive has been backed by U.S. air power including B-1 and B-52 bombers. "The Taliban are literally watching us all the time, but they are unable to mount co-ordinated attacks," said Maj. Kirk Gallinger of Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, PPCLI. "They are very cognizant that they cannot meet our force with force. We are convinced the days of the Taliban are over. Every now and then they do something that the media thinks is spectacular. They are a threat and a security issue, but they run from us. While there has been no fighting between Canadians and the Taliban in northern Kandahar recently, Hope said that Panjwai, an agricultural area just to the west of Kandahar City, remained "the main centre for Taliban now. That's where their numbers are." Canadian troops have already been involved in several deadly battles with the Taliban in Panjwai's labyrinthine orchards and vineyards. Commanders have indicated they will return there as often as necessary to deal with the Taliban threat. As Hope spoke, some of his troops provided security during a joint Canadian-American medical clinic in the Meinshin District, about 100 kilometres northeast of Kandahar City. The area has long been one of the greatest hotbeds of Taliban activity and support. Meinshin's deeply conservative Islamic traditions, which underscore why it has been a good refuge for the Taliban, were much in evidence Tuesday. All 167 patients seen by military doctors, nurses and medics in the village of Zamto Kalay were boys and men. It was the same story two days ago when a similar Canadian-American clinic in neighbouring Gombad saw 469 boys and men and no women. "Unfortunately, the women are reluctant to come out in some communities. In such places, no amount of coaxing can change that," said Maj. Tony Littrell, a U.S. army epidemiologist from the Special Operations Command. As well as receiving de-worming medicine, the boys were given oral polio vaccine supplied by the United Nations. As part of the charm offensive, all boys and men also lugged away goody bags stuffed with items such as shovels, rice, cooking oil, groundsheets, pots and wind-up radios.

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