DUBAI - Afghanistanâs Taleban insurgents possess anti-aircraft weapons and are seeking to obtain even more powerful arms, a commander with the rebel movement told Al Jazeera television. âWe cannot reveal our military secrets but, by the will of God, we will obtain weapons more powerful than what we have,â the commander, identified as Dadallah, told the Arabic satellite television station in an interview broadcast on Thursday. âWe have weapons that can down aircraft but we cannot reveal what they are,â he added without elaborating.
| What they have is a new set of targets for our air guys. |
Last month, Taleban insurgents shot down a US helicopter, killing all 16 troops on board, in the biggest single combat blow to US forces since they overthrew the Taleban in 2001. Taleban spokesman Abdul Latif Hakimi had said the guerrillas shot down the helicopter with a ânew type of weaponâ. US military officials, however, said the aircraft had probably been shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade and there was no indication that a more sophisticated ground-to-air system was involved. |