Norwegian soldiers have been engaged in heated battles against the Taliban in northern Afghanistan this month. Military officials claim 13 Taliban soldiers were killed.
Around 250 Norwegian soldiers were involved in the mid-May battles in Afghanistan's Badghis Province, the defense ministry reported. It's the second time Norwegian forces have been in armed conflict in Afghanistan in the past six months.
"We had a gathering to get ready for the evening," one soldier told Forsvarsnett, the militaryÂ’s own official web site, while recalling the evening of May 13. "Suddenly there were explosions. They were firing all over."
The soldier said he and his colleagues "could hear the bullets... and a rocket landed 40 meters from where we were standing."
The Norwegians started firing back. Major Rune Wenneberg said the Taliban rebels conducted "a well-coordinated assault" from a distance of about 1,200 meters against Norway's Telemark Battalion. "The only dramatic moments were the first few seconds," Wenneberg claimed. "Then we did what we've been training to do at Rena, seize the initiative and respond with massive, precise fire."
The battle went on for several hours, with more in the days following. None of the Norwegian or allied soldiers were killed or wounded, claimed the military. |