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American Soldier Shot in Western Afghanistan, Taliban Regroups
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U.S. soldiers frisk Afghanis
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KABUL,
January 17 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A U.S. special forces
soldier was shot in the leg during a night skirmish in Afghanistan's
western province of Herat, as Taliban fighters are reportedly
returning from Pakistan and regrouping around Spin Boldak near the
southern border, according to news reports Friday, January 17.
A
U.S. military spokesman said Friday that the soldier was part of a
special forces patrol which came under small arms attack late
Thursday, January 16, about 50 kilometers south of the Shindand
airbase where U.S. forces are based, reported Agence France-Presse
(AFP).
"The
patrol returned fire and broke contact," the spokesman said in a
statement.
The
injured soldier was evacuated to an airbase used by the U.S. military
in the southern city of Kandahar. He was listed in a stable condition.
In
December, an attack on a special forces patrol in a similar vicinity
triggered a B-52 bombing raid with no casualties reported from the
seven 500-pound bombs dropped on the area.
Some
8,000 U.S. soldiers dominate a 10,000-strong international coalition
which has been hunting down Taliban and al-Qaeda remnants since the
launch of U.S.-led military operations in October 2001.
The
Taliban regime collapsed within two months but its top leaders and
hundreds of al-Qaeda followers are still at large.
Taliban
Regrouping
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U.S. forces in Afghanistan repeatedly come under attack |
In
a related development, Afghan government took steps Friday to tackle a
reported regrouping of Taliban and al-Qaeda factions in the south of
the country.
Around
5,000 police have been sent to the southern town of Spin Boldak, near
the border with Pakistan.
Sources
have told the BBC news online that some former Taliban activists are
trying to re-group in the region.
On
Thursday, January 16, a humanitarian official said Taliban
fighters are returning from Pakistan and regrouping around Spin
Boldak.
A
growing number of Taliban fighters or former Taliban are gathering in
the small frontier city, 600 kilometers southwest of the capital Kabul
in the province of Kandahar, said the source, requesting anonymity.
They
were taking advantage of the porous border there.
The
source said the return of the members of the ousted regime could be
interpreted in two ways.
Some
could be returning to their homes to resettle in peace and without
plans to attack the new transitional government.
Or
there could be a deliberate infiltration aimed at launching attacks
against pro-government or U.S. forces at the start of spring in a few
months.
Kandahar,
home to tribal Pashtuns, was the stronghold of the former regime,
which took power in 1996.
There
have also been reports of clashes between alleged Taliban activists
and Afghan government forces in the area.
The
head of security in the city, Mama Ubaidullah, told the BBC they had
information that a wanted Taliban leader, Hafiz Abdur Rahim, was
living there.
He
was believed to be staying in the Loye Karaiz area - but may have fled
the city altogether.
During
a clash with an alleged Taliban group, Ubaidullah said the security
forces killed four people and injured four others. A further five
people were arrested.
Repeated
Anti-U.S. Attacks
U.S.
troops have come under repeated rocket attacks, mainly along the
eastern border with Pakistan, where hundreds of al-Qaeda members are
believed to be hiding.
The
troops have been uncovering hidden weapons stashes almost daily across
the country.
Four
separate caches were discovered Thursday.
A
stash of 20 rifles, machine gun rounds, anti-personnel mines, plastic
explosives and a time fuse cord were found near the eastern city of
Jalalabad.
A
local villager near Bamiyan directed U.S. soldiers to a hidden stash
of more than 245 rockets, 330 mortar rounds, 6,000 rounds of machine
gun ammunition, and 650 rifle rounds. The weapons were destroyed on
the spot, according to AFP.
U.S.
forces were also tipped off by a local villager near Gardez in the
south-east and discovered a draw in the ruins of a small compound
where 85 Chinese, Yugoslavian and Iranian mortar rounds, and Russian
grenades were hidden.
A
weapons cache was also discovered in Spin Boldak.
In
a separate related development Friday, one person was killed and one
injured when a bomb exploded in Balkh province in Afghanistan's
unruly north, a local official said.
"The
explosive device was concealed in a radio. The explosion killed one
person and seriously injured another," security official Sayeed
Noorallah Ajha told AFP by telephone from the main northern city of
Mazar-i-Sharif.
"The
bomb was to have been placed in a public place in order to create many
casualties, but it apparently exploded prematurely," Ajha said.
The
explosion occurred in the town of Balkh, some 20 kilometers northwest
of Mazar-i-Sharif, on Monday.
Ajha
alleged that al-Qaeda agents were behind the blast but did not
elaborate.
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