"The battle is the most serious fighting for two years and will raise concerns over the situation in which British forces will find themselves. Several thousand troops are to be deployed in the poppy-growing province this year to expand Afghanistan's Nato-led peacekeeping force."
Sounds like the Taliban, augmented by al-Qaeda small unit leaders, is building up forces and establishing bases in the Helmand province and surrounding areas in anticipation of the arrival of British troops. David Bier http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1702514,00.html Gun battle in Taliban stronghold Antony Barnett Sunday February 5, 2006 The Observer The volatile Afghan region where more than 3,000 British troops are being deployed has erupted in violence, leading to the death of 25 people after a major battle between Taliban insurgents and US and Afghan government forces, according to provincial sources yesterday. Hundreds of villagers fled their homes on Friday after 200 Taliban launched a series of attacks in the southern povince of Helmand. The battle is the most serious fighting for two years and will raise concerns over the situation in which British forces will find themselves. Several thousand troops are to be deployed in the poppy-growing province this year to expand Afghanistan's Nato-led peacekeeping force. US and Afghan troops had sealed off a village several miles from the town of Josh Aali, where US aircraft dropped bombs on Friday. Officials said the bombs hit Taliban positions, but several villagers said there had been civilian casualties. According to local reports, bullet casings littered the ground and bloodstains could be seen. The deputy governor of Helmand, Mullah Mir, said an estimated 600 government troops along with 200 policemen had been rushed to the area. Twenty Taliban were killed and 20 wounded, said Mir, while five policemen were killed and 16 wounded. A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: 'We have always said British troops are being sent to carry out a different role to the US military. But they have the right equipment to provide the necessary security.' Full coverage Special report: Afghanistan http://observer.guardian.co.uk/Guardian/afghanistan/0,,548335,00.html Interactive guide British troops in Afghanistan http://observer.guardian.co.uk/Guardian/flash/0,,1698844,00.html News guide Afghanistan: online media http://observer.guardian.co.uk/Guardian/worldnewsguide/asia/page/0,,622912,00.html Links Afghanistan Online http://www.afghan-web.com/ US Library of Congress: Afghanistan resources http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/amed/afghanistan/afghanistan.html CIA factbook: Afghanistan http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/af.html Wikipedia: Afghanistan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
