One of the favorite spots for the Taliban to mass an assault on U.S. FOB's in Afghanistan is Paktika province which is a bit off the beaten path in eastern Afghanistan. If you recall, Paktika was the location of one of the worst assaults on a U.S. base last year. Well, this mass assault by the Haqqani Network Taliban didn't go quite as well for them as U.S. troops fought back valiantly and called in Apache and fixed wing air support who decimated the marauding Taliban.
From the article at The Long War Journal:
From the article at The Long War Journal:
US troops beat back the latest attempt by the Haqqani Network and the Taliban to overrun a combat outpost in eastern Afghanistan. The US troops killed more than 30 Haqqani Network fighters who carried out a coordinated, massed assault in Paktika province.
The attack began at 1:30 a.m. this morning, when the Pakistan-based Haqqani Network massed a large number of fighters outside Combat Outpost Margah, an International Security Assistance Force public affairs official told The Long War Journal. The fighters "attacked from all directions with rocket-propelled grenades, small arms and mortar fire," ISAF stated in a press release.
US troops returned fire and called in air and helicopter support against the enemy fighters. Aircraft launched three guided bombs at "an insurgent firing position" and attacked "a large number of insurgents near the outpost," ISAF stated.
ISAF estimated that more than 30 of the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani Network fighters were killed in the strike. Five US soldiers were wounded in the clash, "however all continued fighting."
The fact that five U.S. troops were wounded shows just how serious this attack was - please note that all five of those American soldiers kept their weapons blazing while injured.
I think what sets this attack apart from the one that killed so many of our troops before is the quick response by air support - if you read between the lines of the article, you can tell that a couple of well-placed JDAMs probably took out the bulk of the 30 dead Taliban and it's my guess that the Apache gunships probably were shooting fish in a barrel.
We escaped one here, that's for sure. It won't be the last.
I think what sets this attack apart from the one that killed so many of our troops before is the quick response by air support - if you read between the lines of the article, you can tell that a couple of well-placed JDAMs probably took out the bulk of the 30 dead Taliban and it's my guess that the Apache gunships probably were shooting fish in a barrel.
We escaped one here, that's for sure. It won't be the last.
UPDATE: From a report I just saw at DAWN - there's an update on what exactly we did to the Taliban during this attack. It says that 80 Taliban were killed in the defense response!
An Afghan official said Saturday that 80 Taliban insurgents were killed during a failed attack on a Nato combat outpost near the border with Pakistan.
“Fresh information that we received from intelligence sources shows that 80 Taliban have been killed. The bodies of the militants were left on the battlefield,” said Mukhlis Afghan, spokesman for the governor of eastern Paktika province.
Nato said earlier that 30 Taliban had been killed as international troops repelled an attack on the outpost in Barmal district, which sits on the border of Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal area.
Now, when we can jump from 30 dead Taliban to 80 dead Taliban...that's a good update!
US troops repel Haqqani Network assault on eastern Afghan base
US troops beat back the latest attempt by the Haqqani Network and the Taliban to overrun a combat outpost in eastern Afghanistan. The US troops killed more than 30 Haqqani Network fighters who carried out a coordinated, massed assault in Paktika province.
The attack began at 1:30 a.m. this morning, when the Pakistan-based Haqqani Network massed a large number of fighters outside Combat Outpost Margah, an International Security Assistance Force public affairs official told The Long War Journal. The fighters "attacked from all directions with rocket-propelled grenades, small arms and mortar fire," ISAF stated in a press release.
US troops returned fire and called in air and helicopter support against the enemy fighters. Aircraft launched three guided bombs at "an insurgent firing position" and attacked "a large number of insurgents near the outpost," ISAF stated.
ISAF estimated that more than 30 of the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani Network fighters were killed in the strike. Five US soldiers were wounded in the clash, "however all continued fighting."
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Al Jazeera that the fighters inflicted "high casualties" on Afghan and ISAF forces after overrunning six Afghan police outposts. He claimed that only eight Haqqani Network fighters had been killed during the assault. But the Taliban exaggerate Afghan and Coalition casualties on a daily basis, often claiming that scores of troops are killed and dozens of "tanks" are destroyed.
The Taliban and its sub-group, the Haqqani Network, are seeking to overrun ISAF and Afghan outposts in an effort to gain a propaganda victory. The massed attacks are carried out by anywhere from 50 to 200 fighters, and are filmed by propaganda teams. Al Qaeda and other terror groups often participate in the attacks as well.
The attacks tend to begin early in the morning. Enemy forces usually commence the attack with mortar and rocket strikes, while waves of fighters move toward the outer perimeter and attempt to breach the wire. The enemy fighters seek to get as close to the base as possible to negate the ISAF air advantage; once inside the security perimeter ISAF air crews would have to risk firing on their own personnel.
Repeated Taliban assaults against remote US combat outposts in Kunar and Nuristan provinces, and the near-overrunning of outposts in Kamdesh and Wanat, contributed to the decision by ISAF to withdraw from the area within the past year. The Taliban and al Qaeda quickly moved into the abandoned regions and established safe havens in the area, then proceeded to launch attacks on neighboring districts.
Background on recent attacks on US outposts in eastern Afghanistan
The Haqqani Network launched five massed assaults on US outposts between late August and September. Each of the attacks failed, and the Haqqani Network incurred heavy casualties. The bases are strung along the Haqqani Network's rat lines into North Waziristan in Pakistan, where the terror group's leadership is based.
On Aug. 28, Haqqani Network fighters launched coordinated attacks against Forward Operating Bases Salerno and Chapman in Khost province. US and Afghan troops routed the Haqqani Network fighters, killing more than 35, including a commander, during and after the attacks. Several of the fighters were wearing US Army uniforms, and 13 were armed with suicide vests. During raids in the aftermath of the attacks, US forces killed and captured several commanders and fighters.
On Sept. 2, the Haqqani Network attempted to storm Combat Outpost Margah in the Bermel district of Paktika province. US troops repelled the attack with mortar and small-arms fire, then called in helicopter gunships to finish off the attackers; 20 were reported killed.
On Sept. 21, US troops killed 27 Haqqani Network fighters as they mustered to assault Combat Outpost Spera.
And in the last attack, on Sept. 24, Haqqani Network suicide bombers attempted to breach the outer perimeter of Forward Operating Base Gardez in Paktia province. Five suicide bombers were killed by US forces.
The Taliban and the Haqqani Network have also launched attacks at several major installations across the country this year. In May, a small team attempted to breach security at Kandahar Airfield after launching a rocket attack on the base; another small team conducted a suicide assault at the main gate at Bagram Airbase in Parwan province. In June, the Taliban launched an assault against Jalalabad Airfield in Nangarhar province. The Taliban carried out a suicide assault against the Afghan National Civil Order Police headquarters in Kandahar City in July; three US soldiers were killed in the attack, which included a suicide car bomber and a follow-on assault team. And in early August, the Taliban again conducted a complex attack at Kandahar Airfield. All of the attacks were successfully repelled by Coalition and Afghan forces.
1 comment:
Ha! They thought a nighttime attack would do the trick.
It must have been like target practice for the US troops with all the night vision technology we have.
80 to 0. In terms of a military battle... It just does't get any better than this. Kudos to the US military.
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