| http://66.96.205.195/~azzam/afghan/news/news.php?id=33
12 December 2001 : Uzbekistan Eyewitnesses See Dozens of US Casualties LONDON (IWPR): The London-based Institute for War and Peace Reporting has reported from Khanabad, Uzbekistan, that the US air base in this city is receiving daily flights carrying dead and injured US soldiers. Uzbek sources at Khanabad suggest that the real figures of US casualties are far higher than the Pentagon's official totals. Uzbek army personnel working at the air base said scores of US casualties have been arriving there. From November 25 to December 2, an Uzbek orderly working with American medical staff said he had witnessed the arrival of four to five US helicopters - carrying between them 10-15 American casualties - each day. The orderly said the US staff he was helping confirmed the casualties coming off the aircraft were Americans. A reporter who managed to enter the air base with a group of visiting Uzbek parents said that one whole floor of a building and four large canvas tents were full of injured US soldiers, who have suffered shrapnel and bullet wounds to the arms, leg and head. The airport sources could not confirm how many incoming casualties had died. One Uzbek soldier said that since October 15 he had helped US servicemen load 20 body bags onto American transport planes. But he could not confirm whether they were dead US soldiers. But there is other evidence of American fatalities. One Uzbek officer said US soldiers had told him that four of their comrades had died of their wounds on December 1 while being airlifted to Khanabad. An Uzbek pilot spoke of the death last week of an American soldier who he had become friendly with while he was on the base. The US serviceman, he said, had died in the attempt to end the prison riot on the outskirts of Mazar-e-Sharif two weeks ago. "A lot of American troops died there - it was a real battle, " the pilot said. Uzbek army personnel say the atmosphere on the base has changed distinctly in the last week or so. They say that in October when the Americans began deploying at the airport, they were gung-ho, telling their Uzbek counterparts that it would take no more than a month and a half to defeat the Taleban and al-Qaeda. While the Taleban appear to be on their last legs, al-Qaeda fighters continue to resist in mountain redoubts, with some US servicemen at Khanabad now resigned to a long haul. Uzbek military staff say frustration at this is noticeable. They say they have witnessed growing tensions among American troops, often overhearing arguments and shouting matches. The link to the entire report can be found in the Associated Links section below. TORA BORA ATTACKED BY 15,000LB HEAVY BOMBS; AMERICAN AGENTS UNABLE TO ADVANCE JALALABAD (Islam News): The Americans have started using 15,000lb heavy 'Daisy Cutter' bombs on Tora Bora. According to news reports, the Americans have carried out the most intense bombing on Arab Mujahideen present in Tora Bora, which is 25 km away from Jalalabad. They have used cruise missiles, cluster bombs, Napalm bombs, B-52 bomber carpet-bombs, Oxygen-sucking bombs and after the failure of all these armaments, they have now resorted to the most dangerous Daisy Cutter bombs. According to the information received from Tora Bora the American warplanes have dropped several 15,000lb bombs similar to what they dropped in civilians in Kandahar, but despite this, the Northern Alliance forces have still been unable to make any advances on the Mujahideen positions. Although the Northern Alliance Commanders, Hazrat Ali and Haji Zahir are claiming for many days that their 3000 fighters have started attacks, eye witnesses from Jalalabad have said that there are only 450 equipped criminals of these commanders in Tora Bora, including 200 troops under Hazrat Ali and 250 under Zahir Shah. The eyewitnesses said that in order to collect US dollars from the Americans, these troops continue to make different claims every day, but until now they have only advanced 1.5 km from their initial positions. It is not within their reach to take control of the whole region. These dangerous regions are spread over 35 km in length and in this whole region there are numerous large and small caves. It must be clarified that this region starts from the South of Jalalabad and meets the Parachinar region after 35 km. The American and Coalition forces began bombing Afghanistan on 7th October 2001 and Tora Bora is the only place where bombing has been going on continuously and without any break since that date. However, so far the Americans have still been unable to achieve significant results from this bombing. The Americans are in complete disarray as regards this situation and whether Usama Bin Ladin is here or not. AL-JAZEERA CHANNEL: AMERICAN COMMANDERS KILLED BY MORTAR FIRE IN TORA BORA TORA BORA (Al-Jazeera): It was one day last week when a mortar round from the Arab Mujahideen positions in Tora Bora hit the command center of the Eastern Alliance, while a planning session was in progress. According to news reports, high level US military commanders as well as Haji Qadir's top commanders were present in the session. The command center was destroyed by the round and the Eastern Alliance militia used excessive force to keep the foreign journalists and TV crews from the scene of carnage. Al-Jazeera Network speculated that this harrassement was to cover up the heavy blow dealt to the command structure of the US forces in the area. WORLD TRADE CENTER ATTACK IRRELEVANT NOW AFTER 9000 AFGHAN CIVILIANS KILLED The 11 September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in America have now become an irrelevant topic of discussion as the number of Afghan civilians killed by America since 7th October 2001 reaches 9200. Are the same Muslim 'scholars' and 'organisations' and 'councils' who shed many tears over the 11 September attacks now going to shed three times as many tears or give three times as many 'official' statements condemning these atrocities as well? Or is the life of an American disbeliever worth more than a Muslim Afghan civilian? |
