Credit: NATO Click on map to enlarge.
Showing posts with label ISAF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ISAF. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Around 80 Taliban killed in Afghanistan Near Pakistan Border
June 23, 2007
Foreign forces in Afghanistan said Saturday they had killed around 80 insurgents in the past 24 hours, most of them in a strike on rebels preparing an attack near the Pakistan border.
A group of 45 men and several smaller ones of eight to 10 were spotted just inside the border later Friday preparing to attack a base in the Paktika province, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.
“They were clearly armed and they were clearly hostile and that is why they were engaged,” ISAF spokesman Major John Thomas said.
ISAF forces conducted reconnaissance to confirm their suspicions and the insurgents fired on a US-led coalition aircraft, Thomas said.
Coalition forces then unleashed combined air and artillery strikes as the insurgents tried to escape across the border, he said. The operation was coordinated with Pakistan because the area is close to the border.
An ISAF spokesman for the east of the country, Major Donald Korpi, said “up to 60 Taleban were killed.”
Thomas did not have a figure for the dead but did not dispute this toll, saying such numbers were arrived at through various battle damage assessments.
Commanders in the area said it was the largest formation of militants there since January, Thomas added.
On January 11 air and ground strikes on insurgents spotted infiltrating into Afghanistan from Pakistan killed up to 150 of them, ISAF said at the time.
The Taleban’s leadership is believed to have fled into Pakistan when the coalition drove them from power in 2001.
The extremist movement and its Al Qaeda allies are said to have training grounds just across the porous border.
The coalition reported separately that its soldiers working with Afghan troops had killed nearly 20 “enemy fighters” in a seven-hour battle late Friday in the southern province of Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taleban movement.
The attackers had initiated the battle by opening fire with machine guns, it said in a statement.
Several more fighters were killed in the adjoining province of Uruzgan when a battle erupted after troops were shot at with multiple rockets.
The coalition also announced it had detained 20 militants early Saturday in an operation against Al Qaeda militants in Ghazni province.
At one compound fighters had fired rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns at the soldiers, who returned fire and killed the assailants, a statement said.
The Taleban’s insurgency has steadily intensified since it was launched, despite the efforts of thousands of foreign troops helping the Afghan security forces.
The interior ministry announced that Afghan and foreign security forces had killed more than 1,500 insurgents in about 80 operations across Afghanistan since March.
About 530 more, including 23 would-be suicide bombers, were captured, it said in a statement.
But insurgent attacks have also increased, with regular suicide and roadside bombings claimed by the militants that have killed scores of civilians.
In a new incident, a district governor said six Afghan civilians driving trucks supplying goods to foreign military bases were killed Friday by Taleban in the southern province of Helmand.
Insurgency-linked violence killed more than 4,400 Afghans last year, the bulk of them rebels but including about 1,000 civilians, according to Human Rights Watch.
A group of 45 men and several smaller ones of eight to 10 were spotted just inside the border later Friday preparing to attack a base in the Paktika province, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.
“They were clearly armed and they were clearly hostile and that is why they were engaged,” ISAF spokesman Major John Thomas said.
ISAF forces conducted reconnaissance to confirm their suspicions and the insurgents fired on a US-led coalition aircraft, Thomas said.
Coalition forces then unleashed combined air and artillery strikes as the insurgents tried to escape across the border, he said. The operation was coordinated with Pakistan because the area is close to the border.
An ISAF spokesman for the east of the country, Major Donald Korpi, said “up to 60 Taleban were killed.”
Thomas did not have a figure for the dead but did not dispute this toll, saying such numbers were arrived at through various battle damage assessments.
Commanders in the area said it was the largest formation of militants there since January, Thomas added.
On January 11 air and ground strikes on insurgents spotted infiltrating into Afghanistan from Pakistan killed up to 150 of them, ISAF said at the time.
The Taleban’s leadership is believed to have fled into Pakistan when the coalition drove them from power in 2001.
The extremist movement and its Al Qaeda allies are said to have training grounds just across the porous border.
The coalition reported separately that its soldiers working with Afghan troops had killed nearly 20 “enemy fighters” in a seven-hour battle late Friday in the southern province of Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taleban movement.
The attackers had initiated the battle by opening fire with machine guns, it said in a statement.
Several more fighters were killed in the adjoining province of Uruzgan when a battle erupted after troops were shot at with multiple rockets.
The coalition also announced it had detained 20 militants early Saturday in an operation against Al Qaeda militants in Ghazni province.
At one compound fighters had fired rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns at the soldiers, who returned fire and killed the assailants, a statement said.
The Taleban’s insurgency has steadily intensified since it was launched, despite the efforts of thousands of foreign troops helping the Afghan security forces.
The interior ministry announced that Afghan and foreign security forces had killed more than 1,500 insurgents in about 80 operations across Afghanistan since March.
About 530 more, including 23 would-be suicide bombers, were captured, it said in a statement.
But insurgent attacks have also increased, with regular suicide and roadside bombings claimed by the militants that have killed scores of civilians.
In a new incident, a district governor said six Afghan civilians driving trucks supplying goods to foreign military bases were killed Friday by Taleban in the southern province of Helmand.
Insurgency-linked violence killed more than 4,400 Afghans last year, the bulk of them rebels but including about 1,000 civilians, according to Human Rights Watch.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Major General Jacko Page
New General in Command of Region Command South
Major General Jacko Page from Britain
speaks to soldiers and dignitaries
after taking over as Commander Region South from
outgoing Dutch Major General Ton van Loon,
during the Transfer of Authority ceremony
for the Regional Command South at the base
in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Credit: CP PHOTO by Ryan Remiorz
Tuesday, May 1, 2007.
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- A British general took over command of operations in southern Afghanistan Tuesday morning, assuming control of the area where 2,500 Canadians are deployed.
In his incoming address Maj. Gen. Jacko Page said he plans to continue to focus "not just on short-term gains against extremists, but the long-term prosperity and stability of Afghanistan" as well.
Page replaces Maj. Gen. Ton Van Loon, who commanded Regional Command South since Nov. 1 when he took over from Canadian Brig.-Gen. David Fraser.
Page said things are currently going well in the area, but challenges still remain. That in mind, he made clear he wants to continue to emphasize the importance of development as well as security.
"While security is a critical part of the equation, ensuring development can take place to improve the lives of ordinary Afghans will remain a priority in the south," he said.
"It is my hope, it is my belief that during my time as Commander Regional Command south I can build on our previous successes and continue to make real, tangible progress."
From a podium atop a flatbed military truck, Page said the continued training and building of Afghanistan's local army and police forces - considered a vital component of the effort to rebuild the war-ravaged country - would remain a top priority for coalition forces.
"They have already shown themselves to be a courageous and potent force," Page said. "Their bravery on the battlefield has the respect and admiration of every ISAF soldier."
Page, who will spend the next six months in command of RC South, said the coalition will remain focused on providing the security necessary for development in the region to continue.
He cited in particular the current coalition effort to flush the Taliban out of the Sangin River valley, which includes Operation Silicon, a British-led offensive which began in Helmand province on Monday. Part of the goal is to allow reconstruction work to continue on the valuable Kajaki hydroelectric dam, Page said.
"Whether it be roads, better water supplies or electricity, development can only happen if the security conditions are right," Page said. "All, therefore, have an interest in security."
In his outgoing speech, Maj.-Gen. Ton van Loon, who took over command of RC South from Canadian Brig.-Gen. David Fraser, borrowed a metaphor from his predecessor as he compared the rebuilding effort in Afghanistan to a river made of "many single drops." Van Loon said the people of southern Afghanistan are slowly growing more confident as they emerge from beneath the waning influence of the Taliban, and some are feeling more free to speak out against the insurgency.
"Success in southern Afghanistan can be seen when religious scholars and elders feel safe enough to freely express their disdain for Taliban militants, and . . . to publicly state that Taliban extremists can no longer be referred to as Muslims due to their ruthless actions," van Loon said.
There are even indications that Taliban insurgents are being driven out of villages by the locals themselves, with minimal help from coalition forces, he said.
"There are reports where the Taliban are being pushed out of communities by the people of Afghanistan themselves, with only a little help from ISAF and Afghan security forces," he said.
"The people of Afghanistan making that decision to support their government is yet another sign of progress."
There are more than 10,000 troops from eight nations, including Canada, operating in the southern part of Afghanistan.,
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