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Afghanistan
Canadian troops are establishing forward positions in the Panjwai district of Kandahar; 700 Taliban are said to be surrounded, 21 Taliban were killed. The Taliban claim responsibility for a suicide bombing in Kabul that killed 18. The target was a U.S. convoy near the embassy. Afghan police beat back a Taliban attack in Wardak, killing 8 and capturing 8.
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Afghanistan
Q&A: Nato’s problems in Afghanistan
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Afghanistan
Operation Medusa Update i Canadians digging into positions in Panjwai
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Afghanistan
NATO leader, military commander calls for “modest reinforcements” in Afghanistan
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Afghanistan
U.S. forces conduct a major operation in the Konrangal River Valley in Kunar, along the border with Pakistan. Musharraf visits Afghanistan, calls al Qaeda and the Taliban a “common enemy” but refuses to rout them out of North Waziristan. Three British soldiers were killed in separate engagements in the volatile Helmand province.
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Afghanistan
US launches attack in east Afghanistan
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Afghanistan
Two al Qaeda were arrested in Khost in possession of “weapons, night vision equipment and various electronic devices,” as a suicide bomber killed a ” teacher and a government employee” in the same province. The Afghan government is establishing a National Security Coordination System.
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Afghanistan
Suspected Al Qaeda Aides Arrested in Afghanistan
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Operation Medusa Takes Heavy Toll on Taliban
Coalition forces fighting in Kandahar province continue to inflict massive casualties on Taliban forces in the Panjwai, Zhari and Pashmul regions west of Kandahar City. The latest round of fighting in Operation Medusa has claimed an estimated 50 to 60 Taliban killed during air and artillery strikes. This follows a weekend of fighting that claimed over 200 Taliban and 5 Coalition forces killed. No Coalition forces were killed or wounded during the latest round of fighting. Major Scott Lundy, a Canadian Army officer and spokesman for NATO provides a status update of the fighting in the region. Maj. Scott Lundy…
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Afghanistan
Ex-Nato chief attacks countries ‘shirking™ war in Afghanistan
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Afghanistan
A suicide bombing in along Jalalabad Road in Kabul killed 2 German soldiers and 5 Afghan civilians. In the south, 16 Taliban and 3 police were killed during clashes. Over 100 Dutch troops have been temporarily re-assigned to the southern Afghan province of Kandahar to assist with Operation Medusa.
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Afghanistan
Over 100 Dutch troops have been temporarily re-assigned to the southern Afghan province of Kandahar
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Afghanistan
Afghani suicide bombing toll at 105 civilians this year
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Afghanistan
7 suspected Taliban, 3 Afghan policemen killed; suicide attacker hits coalition convoy
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Afghanistan
14 U.K. troops die in Afghan plane crash
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Afghanistan
Dutch pilot killed in F-16 crash in Afghanistan
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Afghanistan
US Says Expects UN To Announce ‘Significant Increase’ In Afghan Opium Crops
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NATO led forces kill 200 Taliban in Operation Medusa
ISAF continues offensive operations in southeastern Afghanistan, as Operation Medusa follows on the heals of Operation Mountain Thrust Canadian and Afghan forces have kicked off a new operation in Kandahar Province. Operation Medusa began on Saturday, and is aimed at rooting out Taliban forces Kandahar Province’s Panjwai and Zhari districts, the scene of much fighting over the past half year. The ISAF press release indicates “the Taliban incurred substantial losses yesterday, as indicated by the amount of ground gained by Afghan and ISAF troops, and a significant number of suspected insurgents were detained by the Afghan National Police.” An ISAF…
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A Hard August for the Taliban in Afghanistan
The “Taliban Offensive” continues to produce Taliban bodies but the Taliban and al Qaeda continue to grow in Northwestern Pakistan The Taliban’s summer of 2006 “offensive” continues to produce inordinately large numbers of Taliban casualties with little to show for the slaughter. But the Taliban still possess its bases of operation in northwestern Pakistan, and churns out fighters for the Afghan front. The Taliban has largely eschewed the established hit-and-run harassment tactics common in successful insurgencies, and has chosen to engage Afghan and Coalition forces en masse. The results have been deadly – for the Taliban. In battle after battle,…
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The Kabul Bombings: Taliban or AGE?
Aftermath of a bombing in Kabul on July 5, 2006. Images courtesy of Walt Gaffney. Click photo to view gallery. The string of four bombings over two days in Kabul, Afghanistan, have raised the tension level in the city and stoked media speculation of a Taliban resurgence in the capital. On July 4, two roadside bombs were detonated; one in front of the Ministry of Justice, another several hundred meters from President Hamid Karzai’s palace. Eleven were wounded in the attacks. On July 5, two more bombs were detonated, one near the “Pigeon Mosque,” about 500 meters west of the…
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Taliban losses in Afghanistan, gains in Pakistan
The latest round of fighting in southeastern Afghanistan has claimed over 82 Taliban fighters in two separate engagements in Kandahar and Uruzgan provinces. Security Watchtower provides a breakdown of the estimated casualties of Taliban and Coalition forces in southeastern Afghanistan since the beginning of April. An estimated 600 Taliban have been killed and 22 captured, with 41 Afghan and Coalition security forces killed or wounded combined. The estimated Taliban casualties do not contain the number of wounded, which is often twice the number killed in combat.
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Kabul to Qalat
Haji, our Afghan driver and guide. Click to view. After arriving back in Kabul on a U.S. Air Force military C-130 transport from Kandahar, I met up with my friend Tim Lynch, the Afghanistan country manager for World Security Initiatives, a private contracting firm. WSI is located off of Jalalabad road, the main artery between Kabul and the eastern city of Jalalabad. The road is a rough ride and heavily populated with construction companies. Like most places in Afghanistan, the ride is always adventurous.
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Observations from Southeastern Afghanistan
Here are some personal observations, from Kandahar, which are supported by numerous discussions with senior officers and the foot soldiers: Afghan police “on duty” at Patrol Base Wilson in Zari District. Click image to view. – Pakistan’s lawless tribal belts are a major source of Taliban support, including indoctrinating, funding, arming and training Pakistani and Afghan Taliban recruits. The Afghans I spoke to curse Pakistan for allowing this to happen. The porous situation on the Afghan-Pakistan border is a national security issue for Afghanistan, and the international community as al Qaeda is operating training camps within the Northwest Frontier Province…
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Soft Targets
Haji Agha Lalai (left, Director of Kandahar Strengthening Peace) and Mullah Ibrahim (right). Click image to view. Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan: As Coalition and Afghan forces press on with Operation Mountain Thrust in southeastern Afghanistan, the fighting in the Zari and Panjwai has abated. Lieutenant Colonel Ian Hope, the Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, has stated the offensive operations have now shifted towards joint security patrols between Canadian and Afghan police and army units. “We know from our report that any large Taliban groups have withdrawn… there must be a permanent presence, particularly…
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Three Days of Operation Mountain Thrust in Kandahar
The other side of FOB Martello. Click image to view. Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan: On Saturday night, Charlie Company from the 1st Battalion of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry moved from Forward Operating Base Martello to the “430 compound”, a small, austere ANP base infested with large ants and adorned with a well in the center. The Canadian soldiers took advantage of the rare running water to wash up from the dust bowl at FOB Martello. The Afghan National Police guarded the soldiers from Charlie Company as they slept, packed into the mud-walled compound.
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Press Conference with Colonel Chris Vernon on Mountain Thrust
Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan: Coalition forces have officially announced Operation Mountain Thrust, a concerted effort to dislodge the Taliban from eastern and southeastern Afghanistan. This operation has been ongoing for some time, and includes the offensive operations in Kunar, Uruzgan, Kandahar, Helmand and Zabul provinces. Colonel Chris Vernon, the Chief of Staff of Multinational Forces Brigade – Regional Command South, has commented on the operation in a press conference just minutes ago here at Kandahar Airfield. Download the audio here. The file is in MP3 format, approximately 12 Megabytes and about 10 minutes long.
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The Road to Tarin Kot
Troops from the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry prep for the field. Click image to view. Shah Wali Kot, Afghanistan: I’ve embedded with 7 Platoon, Charlie Company of the 1st Battalion of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Regiment. This is a proud group of soldiers who bristle at the common perception in Canada that their primary mission is peacekeeping. “We’re not peace keepers, we’re soldiers,” the soldiers freely told me during numerous casual conversations. Afghanistan is far from a peacekeeping operation. The Canadian soldiers are actively fighting the Taliban insurgency in Kandahar province.
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Media Death Watch in action on purported kidnapped Canadian soldier
Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan: Earlier this week, Glenn Reynolds reproduced an informal email from Afghanistan, which included an anecdote about the Canadian media maintaining the “Death Watch” (their own words) at Kandahar Airfield. The reporters are restricted to maintaining a presence at the airbase to report on potential deaths or wounding of Canadian soldiers. The soldiers resent the media for this, and the reporters do not like manning the Death Watch as well. They are at the mercy of the news bureaus, who crave the sensational stories.
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Kabul accident changes ISAF driving rules; Suicide attacks in Kandahar
Traffic in downtown Kabul. Click to view. The fallout from last week’s traffic accident and subsequent riots has reached the international troops. On last week’s radio interview with Rob Breakenridge, I predicted Coalition forces would soon be forced to moderate their driving habits. Today, Lt. Gen. David Richards, the commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), indicated his troops’ behavior on the roads is now an issue. “There are too many in the (U.S.-led) coalition, ISAF, international community who drive too quickly and in an inconsiderate way and we are all determined to improve that so the people here…
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Chora Police Station Retaken; Kabul Police Chief Sacked
Map of ISAF Mission in Afghanistan. Click to Enlarge. Coalition and Afghan National Army (ANA) forces retook the Chora district police station in Uruzgan province which was attacked and seized Taliban earlier in the week. This was a joint air assault operation, and Chora received a reinforcement of Afghan National Army troops to bolster security in the region. “Insurgents may have attacked the police headquarters, but they never had the capability to control Chora, as evident of their immediate retreat in the face of Afghan and Coalition forces,” said Lt. Col. Paul Fitzpatrick, the spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force…
