[A-List] Bloody Morass: West's Latest Afghan War Continues Apace

[Rick Rozoff <r_rozoff@xxxxxxxxx>]

1) Afghan Government Soldier, Two Others Killed In
Alleged Taliban Attacks
2) US Forces Claim To Kill 20 'Suspected Neo-Taliban'
Forces
3) Afghan Client Regime Claims 28 Taliban Killed In
Spin Boldak, Taliban Claims 12 Government Troops Slain
4) Khost: Afghan Delegation Demands End To US
Bombings, Raids
5) US, French Forces Conspire In Afghan Bombing Run
6) Baluchistan: Two Wounded In Rocket Attacks On
Airfield
7) Karachi: One Killed, 35 Injured In Consecutive
Blasts Near US Cultural Center



1)
http://www.paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=66013

Pakistan Tribune
May 26, 2004


Taliban Assaults Kill 3 in Afghanistan

KABUL - Taliban militants on motorcycles killed an
Afghan soldier in an attack on troops guarding a
shipment of aid in an impoverished southeastern
province, while a rocket attack farther west killed
two people, officials said.

Militia ambushed the convoy carrying tractors and
generators Saturday as it drove toward Waza Khwa, a
remote town in Paktika province, about 170 miles
southwest of the capital, Kabul, provincial police
chief Abdul Rahim Khan said according to AP news
agency.

"Taliban opened fire on the vehicle carrying the
soldiers," Khan said. "One of them was killed and
another was wounded."

He said the assailants ? about 20 men on motorbikes ?
retreated after a 30-minute gunbattle.

The four tractors and five generators, paid for by aid
groups as part of efforts to re-establish local
government in the lawless province, were undamaged.

Abdul Hakim Latifi, who claims to speak for the
Taliban, said two of its fighters were wounded in the
shooting.

Latifi said two more Afghan soldiers were killed
Sunday night in a rocket attack near Tirin Kot, the
capital of Uruzgan province, about 250 miles southwest
of Kabul.

But Uruzgan police chief Rozi Khan said the victims
were civilians.

More than 350 people have died in violence across
Afghanistan this year, most of them in the south and
east where Taliban-led insurgents have stepped up
attacks on Afghan and foreign troops and aid workers.

A Norwegian peacekeeper died Sunday in a rocket attack
in Kabul also claimed by Latifi for the Taliban.

Despite the violence, NATO-led peacekeepers and a
separate U.S.-led combat force have pledged to help
ensure security for the country's first post-Taliban
elections slated for September.
------------------------------------------------------
2)
http://www.rferl.org/newsline/6-swa.asp

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
May 26, 2004

U.S. WARPLANES KILL 20 SUSPECTED NEO-TALIBAN IN
SOUTHERN AFGHANISTAN


In a bombing raid on 25 May in a newly discovered camp
in Kandahar Province, U.S. forces killed 20 suspected
neo-Taliban members, AP reported on 26 May. Kandahar
military commander Khan Mohammad said "U.S. forces
told us that they had seen the bodies of about 20 dead
Taliban," but neither he nor U.S. military officials
speculated how many militants were using the camp,
which is situated in the Arghistan region in the
southern part of the province. According to AP, the
clash appeared to be the most deadly encounter between
U.S.-led coalition troops and neo-Taliban militants
since the beginning of the spring when both sides
stepped up their operations. AT
------------------------------------------------------
3)
http://www.geo.tv/main_files/world.aspx?id=20138

Geo TV (Pakistan)
May 26, 2004

Afghanistan: New US operation in Spin Boldak


SPIN BOLDAK: U.S troops are reporting a large-scale
battle against Taliban in Spin Boldak in southern
Afghanistan. Afghan officials had earlier claimed
killing 28 Taliban fighters in clashes.

The new operation was begun Wednesday morning backed
by the gunship helicopters and armored vehicles.
Suspected Taliban hideouts were also targeted.
Spin Boldak Commissioner Fazal Agha has claimed arrest
of 12 Taliban fighters. The troops have killed 28
Taliban fighters including two commanders Moulvi
Ahmedullah and Qari Lal Mohammed, Agha told Geo. The
U.S. military took dead bodies of the Taliban
commanders.

In fighting 12 Afghan soldiers were killed and four
vehicles were destroyed, a Taliban spokesman
Latifullah Hakimi told Geo TV on satellite telephone.
Taliban fighters have successfully left the area and
regrouping for attacking the coalition forces, he
further said.

Afghan officials have confirmed death of three Afghan
soldiers adding that four soldiers were injured in the
fighting.
------------------------------------------------------
4)
http://paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=66111&PHPSESSID=c19abc633905d531f797703853d3366f

Pakistan Tribune
May 27, 2004

Tribesmen demand halt to Allied operations in eastern
Afghanistan


-The delegation had threatened to boycott the Afghan
elections if troops do not stop house-to-house
searches and bombing in the province.



RAZMAK - A 50-member delegation of influential Tani
tribesmen in Khost in eastern Afghanistan met
yesterday with the governor and demanded an end to
Allied troop operations in the province.
Ghazi Nawaz Tani, leader of the delegation, said after
the meeting Tuesday that the governor has assured the
delegation that Afghan troops and local dignitaries
would be taken into confidence by the allied troops
before any operations in the province, says a report
of Kyodo (Japan).

Shah Mahmood Qureshi, a spokesman for the Khost
governor also confirmed the assurance and said
negotiations were continuing with allied troops over
the issue and the tribal delegation would meet the
governor again Thursday for another round of talks.

The delegation had threatened to boycott the Afghan
elections if troops do not stop house-to-house
searches and bombing in the province.

AIP said people in Khost are fed up with frequent
searches.
------------------------------------------------------
5)
http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID=123007816

Air Force Link (US)
May 26, 2004

B-1B supports French, Afghan troops


-Flying from an undisclosed location, the B-1B and
aircrew are deployed from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas.



A B-1B Lancer dropped four Joint Direct Attack
Munitions to help French and Afghan troops fighting
against Taliban forces in Afghanistan on May 25.

The 40th Air Expeditionary Group crew was patrolling
south of Kabul as part of Operation Enduring Freedom
when they received the call for assistance.

After receiving coordinates from the French
joint-terminal air controller, they made a low pass
over the area and then released their weapons on a
second pass.

The French controller reported good hits from the
bombs and said no further assistance was needed
because the enemy was retreating.

Flying from an undisclosed location, the B-1B and
aircrew are deployed from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas.
------------------------------------------------------
6)
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_27-5-2004_pg7_5

Reuters
May 26, 2004


Two injured as rockets fired at Sui airfield


QUETTA: Two civilians were wounded on Wednesday when
tribesmen fired rockets and exchanged gunfire with
paramilitary troops at a small airfield in Sui,
officials said.

The attackers fired about a dozen rockets in Sui. A
local official said the attack caused no damage to the
gas facility, but one rocket fell on the airfield
runway, forcing authorities to close the airport for
the day. Two local people, a man and a woman, were
wounded in the crossfire. The tribesmen also fired
automatic weapons at several posts of paramilitary
troops who returned the fire. The blast disrupted gas
supplies, but there were no reports of any casualties.

------------------------------------------------------
http://www.paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=66095

Pakistan Tribune
May 27, 2004

1 killed, 35 injured in consecutive blasts near US
Cultural Centre



KARACHI - At least 35 people including 9 pressmen
sustained serious injuries when two successive
powerful bombs went off in front of American cultural
centre on Wednesday afternoon. Town Police Officer
(TPO) Munir Sheikh, Deputy Superintendent of Police
(DSP) Raja Pervaiz and Station House Officer (SHO)
Irfan cobra were amongst the 10 injured police
officers and jawans.

They were later shifted to the Aga Khan Hospital .

A police officer has reportedly been died in the
blasts but it could not be confirmed till the last
reports came in. The victims were immediately rushed
to the Jinnah Hospital for medical treatment.

In the first blast, the explosive was planted in civic
Honda car parked in front of American cultural centre.
The rescue workers were carrying out operations at the
site of the blast when another bomb placed in the same
area blasted with a big bang. The police and rangers
personnel have cordoned off the area and started
investigations into the incidents.

Provincial Minister Shoaib Bokhari visited the
Hospital and enquired about the victims about their
health. He announced Rs. 10,000 as compensation for
the injured and assured the journalists that
government will pay the costs of the damage caused to
their motorbikes and cameras in the blasts. It merits
mentioning that one person was killed and four injured
in a bomb blast near Karachi Port on last Tuesday.




	
		
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