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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: bentway who wrote (251144)	12/10/2007 3:08:58 PM
From: Ruffian	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

lol..the ink isn't dried yet, and U are warning for another flare up..................

To: bentway who wrote (251144)	12/10/2007 3:13:34 PM
From: Ruffian	Respond to of 281500

Taliban Loses Grip on Last Major Town By TAIMOOR SHAH and ABDUL WAHEED WAFA Published: December 11, 2007 KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Dec. 10 — Afghan and NATO troops retook the town of Musa Qala in southern Afghanistan today, forcing the Taliban to withdraw from the only sizable town they hold in the country, Afghan and NATO officials said. There was no clear picture of casualties, but the Taliban and civilians said there had been heavy bombardment overnight. The news came as Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain made a surprise visit to Afghanistan and met with President Hamid Karzai. About 7,000 British troops are deployed in Helmand Province, in southern Afghanistan. Retaking the town of Musa Qala, which they abandoned over a year ago, has been one of their main objectives in the province, which has the highest level of Taliban activity as well as illicit opium production. Wali Muhammad, police chief of the neighboring district, Sangin, said that Afghan and NATO forces entered the town at 2 p.m. after heavy fighting. “The Taliban are gone — they faced humiliation and heavy casualties,” he said. A large Taliban force had mounted an attack on Sangin just before dawn Monday, apparently as a diversionary tactic, but the Afghans had fought them off and not suffered casualties, he said. The Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman, Gen. Zaher Azimi, confirmed that Musa Qala was in government hands again but said fighting was still continuing on the outskirts of the town. “Afghan and NATO forces have reached the center but at this point they are consolidating their position,” said Maj. Charles Anthony, a spokesman for the NATO-led force in Afghanistan. A NATO statement said that “progress will be deliberate, appropriate and measured,” because of the concern about the possibility of danger from mines and roadside bombs. The Taliban conceded that its fighters had pulled out at 2 p.m., saying it was a tactical withdrawal to avoid their own and civilian casualties. A spokesman for the Taliban, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, who claimed to be with the Musa Qala force, said the Taliban had pulled out but were not far away from the town. “We will carry out a hit-and-run war,” he said. “Losing Musa Qala doesn’t mean that we will stop fighting.” He said the Taliban had lost eight fighters over the three days of fighting. He also claimed that heavy fighting in a place called Landy Nawa near Musa Qala Sunday night had killed civilians. It was not possible to verify his claims. The NATO and Afghan officials said that there had been air support in the operation but that they did not have information about any casualties. Four civilians had been killed since the beginning of the operation three days ago, General Azimi said. The Taliban have broad freedom of movement in the southern provinces, but Musa Qala was one of the few district towns fully under their control. It had become an important base for their insurgency, and losing the town will be a blow. For British troops, who have struggled to gain the upper hand since deploying in Helmand Province in 2006 during a Taliban resurgence there, retaking the town will be a valuable face-saving exercise in expanding the writ of the Afghan government. Civilians who had fled the town three days ago as the fighting began said the military was preventing them from returning to their homes, and they said they feared for those still inside the town after the bombardment. “We heard that there are a lot of civilians casualties but we don’t know the exact numbers,” said Matiullah, a resident from the town contacted by telephone who was trying to return home. “We are in great anxiety about the condition of our relatives who stayed in the town.” More Articles in International »