US soldiers defeated a Taliban assault on a US base in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar today.
A Taliban force estimated at “20-25 insurgents” launched a nighttime attack on Forward Operating Base Fenty in the Behsud district of Nangarhar earlier today, Master Sergeant Jason Haag, at ISAF’s Joint Command, told The Long War Journal.
The Taliban force launched the attack using rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire, but was repelled by US troops backed by attack helicopters from an air weapons team. The counterattack killed “numerous insurgents” and wounded at least one more, who was later detained. Afghan officials said seven Taliban fighters were killed during the attack. No US or allied troops were killed during the fighting. After the battle, US troops “retrieved multiple automatic weapons, 400 7.62 mm rounds, one mortar tube, two RPG launchers and 19 RPG rounds.”
The Taliban claimed credit for last night’s attack and claimed that “9 invaders were killed, 7 seriously wounded besides 3 helicopters and 8 military vehicles destroyed.” The claim was made on the Taliban propaganda website, Voice of Jihad. The Taliban often exaggerate the results of their operations in their press releases.
FOB Fenty was the scene of a Taliban and al Qaeda suicide assault on Nov. 13, 2010. Six Taliban fighters were killed in that attack, and several suicide vests were recovered after that attack. The Taliban claimed the attack, and wildly inflated the results of the operation.
Al Qaeda and the Pakistani terror groups Lashkar-e-Taiba, Lashkar-e-Islam, and the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan all maintain a presence in Nangarhar province, according to an investigation by The Long War Journal. The presence of terror cells has been detected in the districts of Achin, Bati Kowt, Behsud, Chaparhar, Dara Noor, Deh Bala, Jalalabad, Khogyani, Pachir wa Agam, Sherzad, and Shinwar, or 11 of Nangarhar’s 22 districts.
Since the beginning of December 2010, ISAF and Afghan special operations teams have targeted commanders associated with al Qaeda, the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan and the Lashkar-e-Islam during raids in Nangarhar.
5 Comments
Destroyed=spotted. It seems the rhetoric of Taliban propaganda is to identify the enemy, and thus claim their demise… I have never seen “an unconfirmed number” in any of their assessments of troop levels. Some have been inflated, but never 0 or unknown enemy deaths.
I see their numbers and statements as intel distribution. Now the taliban commanders know that FOB Fenty is protected by at least xxxx number of external sources. Some scouts will go out and make sure these numbers are correct, and if possible, are any in repair status? Then they can reassess where and when to attack next.
Attacks like these are why every FOB should have at least a few dogs with radio collars to let loose when the shooting starts… to track down commanders in the early light when the native population are at markets and in the fields.
I have mentioned before on this how the Taliban fib out their rear ends when it comes to operational results.
Not many realize it, but constant propaganda shows we’re winning on the battlefield. Not only can they not provide **ANY** evidence of their claims, but the very fact that they have teams of guys hunkered down on computers typing falsehoods proves that they are angry that have lost so much ground and leadership in this war.
Reminds me of when the Soviet Union was near collapse, anti-American propaganda was at an all time high.
“The Taliban often exaggerate the results of their operations in their press releases.”
Heh, there’s a difference between exaggerating and outright lying, IMO.
“The Taliban claimed credit for last night’s attack and claimed that “9 invaders were killed, 7 seriously wounded besides 3 helicopters and 8 military vehicles destroyed.” The claim was made on the Taliban propaganda website, Voice of Jihad. The Taliban often exaggerate the results of their operations in their press releases.”
“exaggerate”. Lovely use of understatement.
Usually when going up against a FOB they really get hammered. You can only hope they do not change tactics. This attack is usually the exception, not the rule when it comes to aq/talib attacks. They will go back to planting bombs and planning ambush.