US and Afghan forces killed 35 Taliban fighters during a clash in the southeastern province of Zabul last night. The battle was the third major clash between the allied forces and the Taliban along the Pakistani border in two days.
The fighting broke out after a Taliban unit ambushed a joint Afghan and US convoy moving through the Day Chopan district. The US and Afghan forces routed the Taliban force after counterattacking and calling in airstrikes on their positions. Thirty-five Taliban fighters were killed and 13 more were captured after being wounded during the battle. No Afghan or US casualties were reported.
That same evening, a Taliban force ambushed a convoy of trucks in Zabul’s Shinkai district. The convoy, which was manned by Afghans, was carrying supplies for Coalition forces in the region. Four truckers were killed and 10 trucks were destroyed, the provincial police chief said.
Zabul province is one of several provinces virtually under the control of the Taliban. US military officers stationed in the province refer to it as Talibanistan, a term originally coined for the lawless, Taliban-controlled tribal agencies of North and South Waziristan across the border in Pakistan. “Entire districts of the province are insurgent-controlled, and coalition forces here are barely sufficient to protect the highway that passes through Zabul,” The Wall Street Journal reported on May 14.
The notorious Haqqani Network has extended its influence in Zabul from its traditional strongholds of Khost, Paktia, and Paktika provinces. The Pakistan-based Haqqani family is closely linked to al Qaeda and the Taliban, and its fighters have been behind some of the more deadly suicide attacks in Afghanistan.
The fighting in southern and eastern Afghanistan has intensified over the past several weeks. The fighting season that normally follows the end of the poppy harvest and the opening of the mountain passes from Pakistan is now underway. The Taliban are attempting to counter the US increase of an estimated 21,000 troops with a surge of their own.
Last evening’s clash was the third major battle along the Pakistani border in two days. Yesterday US and Afghan forces killed 29 fighters from the Haqqani Network during an assault on an encampment in Paktika province, just north of Zabul. Twenty-two of those killed were reported to have been Arabs or Pakistanis. Six of them detonated their suicide vests, killing only themselves.
On May 27, Coalition and Afghan forces beat off an attack by Haqqani fighters in neighboring Paktia province. An unknown number of Haqqani fighters attacked a small patrol base in the eastern province, sparking a five-hour battle. US forces called in airstrikes to help defeat the attack. Fifteen of the attackers were killed in the failed assault.
2 Comments
“Six of them detonated their suicide vests, killing only themselves.”
Man, I hope that all these losers die this exact same way.
Are we seeing a turnaround in the fortunes of the coalition against the Taliban/AQ ? When more troops become available, I hope that there is more such news where the Taliban gets crushed repeatedly.
If the T-ban/AQ can be drawn into a big battle, they will be exposed, with superior firepower the US/ISAF can light them up. The situation is still developing but when the muj are in the open, they take a beating.