US airstrike kills 27 insurgents in Afghan east

A US air weapons team (typically made up of Apache attack helicopters or Kiowa scouts) killed 27 insurgents after they attacked a patrol in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar. From AFP, via Dawn:

“Coalition aircraft killed 27 insurgents this morning in the Nazyan district of Nangarhar province,” said a spokesman for the Nato-led International Security Force (ISAF) in eastern Afghanistan.

“Insurgents attacked a coalition patrol with small arms and RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades). Air weapons teams responded immediately. There were no coalition or Afghan civilian deaths reported.” The Taliban were not immediately contactable for comment on the incident.

It is unclear if the “insurgents” were Taliban, Hizb-i-Islami Gulbuddin, Hizb-i-Islami Khalis, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Lakshar-e-Islam, al Qaeda, Tora Bora Military Front, Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, or another of the host of terror groups operating in the province.

US strike aircraft give ISAF and Afghan forces a clear edge against the Taliban; they often have proven to be the deciding factor during battles at remote outposts, particularly in the rugged mountains of the east. As ISAF forces begin to draw down, the number of air weapons teams on station will decrease as well.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

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6 Comments

  • Devin Leonard says:

    The airpower is a decisive advantage, but our boys can defeat any Taliban or Haqqanni forces in a one on one ground engagement any day of the week. We have the best equipped,best trained and best motivated troops in the world and the Taliban and Haqqanni’s know it first hand.

  • Arvadadan says:

    “The Taliban were not immediately contactable for comment on the incident”
    I like the subtle humor intended or not…

  • jayc says:

    “The Taliban were not immediately contactable for comment on the incident.”
    What? The Associated Press is laying down on the job? I read an article somewhere stating that our old buddy Zabiullah Mujahid might have been captured.
    Bill, have you heard anything?

  • Thor says:

    This comment:
    “It is unclear if the “insurgents” wereTaliban, Hizb-i-Islami Gulbuddin, Hizb-i-Islami Khalis, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Lakshar-e-Islam, al Qaeda, Tora Bora Military Front, Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, or another of the host of terror groups operating in the province.”
    ..Underscores the complexity of the politics that must be assuaged for any meaningful resolution to the conflict…
    What a minefield…(pardon the pun)

  • Charles says:

    To get this operation down to a science and take it on the road, what they need to do is develop some leaflets that totally insult the Taliban.

    Then have good weather forecasting so they can figure on five or six days of (relatively) clear weather. Make sure you have first class air assets on hand. Then find the biggest Taliban hotspots. That’s the set up.

    Next leaflet their towns with totally insulting stuff to the Taliban, then drop some americans nearby in such a way as to make them look totally vulnerable to attack. Make sure your air assets are two mountains away. As well make sure the americans have some of those guns with exploding ordinance and redundant ability to call in air support plus any kind of armor they can muster to protect themselves in the open.

    Then when the taliban arrive to shoot down on them, call in air support. And have a nice day.

  • mike merlo says:

    why waste time with leaflets, taint their water so they all get diarrhea

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