Home>News Center>World
             
     

    AP: U.S. troops begin Afghan offensive
    (AP)
    Updated: 2005-08-14 11:00

    KANDAGAL, Afghanistan - U.S. Marines and Afghan troops launched an offensive Saturday to take a remote mountain valley from insurgents tied to the deadliest blow on American forces since the Taliban regime was ousted nearly four years ago, the Associated Press reported. 

    The operation is the biggest yet aimed at rebels believed responsible for twin attacks that killed 19 U.S. troops in June. Three Navy SEALs were killed in an ambush, and all 16 soldiers on a helicopter sent to rescue them died when it was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.

    The offensive came at the end of a deadly week for U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Seven Americans have died along with dozens of militants and civilians, reinforcing concerns that crucial legislative elections next month could be threatened by a surge in violence.

    U.S. and Afghan commanders said militants in the Korengal Valley, in eastern Kunar province near the Pakistani border, were intent on disrupting voting. They said the valley held hundreds of Afghan rebels, as well as extremists from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Chechnya.

    "We want them running for their lives way up in the hills where they can't attack polling stations," said Capt. John Moshane of the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, based in Hawaii. "We want to isolate them from the community."

    Hundreds of Marines and Afghan special forces troopers started moving into position at one end of the valley Thursday, about 120 miles east of the capital, Kabul. They dug mortar and machine-gun pits for a resupply base in a corn field near Kandagal, a village of about 100 farm families.

    Reacting quickly, rebels fired rockets at a nearby U.S. post and a troop convoy but did not hit anything.

    American and Afghan forces hiked into the rugged mountains Friday and Saturday, many leading lines of donkeys laden with food and water. A-10 attack planes circled high above.

    The operation was expected to last at least two weeks, Moshane said.

    One of the main objectives is breaking up a network of militants led by a local Taliban officer, Ahmad Shah, also known as Ismail, who claimed responsibility for the June 28 attacks, said Kirimat Tanhah, a commander in the U.S.-trained and financed Afghan Special Forces.

    Shah is suspected of having ties to al-Qaida militants in Pakistan, he said.

    "Ismail's men ambushed the SEAL team and shot down the helicopter," Tanhah told The Associated Press. "Many of them are foreigners and have trained in Pakistan and elsewhere."

    He said Shah also pays impoverished villagers to fight for him.

    Lt. Col. Jim Donnellan, commander of the Marine battalion, said the valley was a base for lots of other "bad guys" besides Shah, including al-Qaida militants, fighters loyal to renegade former premier Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and other Taliban groups.

    Dozens of criminals involved in timber and gem smuggling are there, too, he said.

    "Some of them are thugs, others are political ideologues, coming in and throwing their money around," Donnellan said. "Many villagers are paid good money to work with the militants."

    Meanwhile, a local shepherd who rescued the only member of the ambushed SEAL team to survive June 28, was reported in hiding after militants threatened to kill him.

    Donnellan, the Marine commander, confirmed the fourth SEAL was sheltered by a villager, but he declined to elaborate. He didn't comment on the accounts of tribesmen who said shepherd Sher Alam was hiding from extremists.

    "Men distributed leaflets around our village saying they were going to kill him," said Shah Wali, a neighbor. "His wife and children are being protected by others in the village, but Sher had to leave."

    He said Alam was grazing his animals when he found the wounded commando hiding in the mountains after the ambush. Wali said the SEAL pointed his gun at Alam, but the shepherd raised his shirt to show he had no weapon and was not a threat.

    Alam took the man to his home and bandaged his wounds, before walking to a nearby U.S. base to alert them, Wali said.

    He said Alam, who is Pashtun, the same ethnicity as most Taliban fighters, gave sanctuary to the American because "it is our culture."

    "We would help anyone who asks, anyone ... well, except Osama bin Laden because he damaged our country," Wali added.



    Japanese PM launches general election campaign
    Katrina slams US Gulf Coast, oil rigs adrift
    Japan's 6 parties square off in TV debate
     
      Today's Top News     Top World News
     

    President Hu Jintao: Gender equality crucial

     

       
     

    Special grants offered to poor students

     

       
     

    EU takes steps to unblock China textiles

     

       
     

    Farmers sue county for illegal land use

     

       
     

    Search for 123 trapped miners suspended

     

       
     

    Hurricane Katrina rocks New Orleans

     

       
      Bush promises post-storm help for victims
       
      Sharon: Not all settlements in final deal
       
      Hurricane Katrina rocks New Orleans
       
      Sri Lanka PM focuses on ending civil war
       
      Musharraf warns Pakistan Islamic schools
       
      Katrina may cost insurers $25 bln
       
     
      Go to Another Section  
     
     
      Story Tools  
       
      News Talk  
      Are the Republicans exploiting the memory of 9/11?  
    Advertisement
             
    中文字幕视频一区| 中文字幕无码成人免费视频| 亚洲中文字幕日产乱码高清app| 国产麻豆天美果冻无码视频| 色综合久久无码中文字幕| 在线看无码的免费网站| 亚洲动漫精品无码av天堂| 日本精品中文字幕| 亚洲精品无码av天堂| 免费无码VA一区二区三区| 无码人妻精品一区二区三区蜜桃 | 亚洲va中文字幕无码久久不卡| 麻豆亚洲AV永久无码精品久久| 免费看成人AA片无码视频羞羞网 | 色综合久久最新中文字幕| 久久99久久无码毛片一区二区 | 无码h黄动漫在线播放网站| 色婷婷久久综合中文久久一本| 亚洲VA中文字幕无码毛片| 亚洲AV无码AV男人的天堂不卡| 免费无码VA一区二区三区| 无码国内精品久久人妻蜜桃| 亚洲AV综合色区无码一区爱AV| 免费无码午夜福利片69| 无码av免费毛片一区二区| 色综合久久中文字幕综合网 | 日本中文字幕网站| 亚洲 无码 在线 专区| 亚洲?V无码成人精品区日韩| 免费无码专区毛片高潮喷水| 久久Av无码精品人妻系列| 亚洲AV无码不卡无码| 久久无码AV一区二区三区| 中文字幕视频在线免费观看| 暖暖日本免费中文字幕| 日本阿v网站在线观看中文| 亚洲AV无码专区在线播放中文 | 久久久噜噜噜久久中文字幕色伊伊 | 熟妇人妻中文a∨无码| 无码专区国产无套粉嫩白浆内射| 日韩精品真人荷官无码|