"Abdul Qoudoas, the district chief of Musa Qala, was killed by Taleban fighters fleeing after a 12-hour battle in the neighbouring Sangeen district. Helmand's deputy governor told the BBC that at one point, he and 100 soldiers were surrounded by 200 Taleban."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4680260.stm Afghanistan battle leaves 25 dead A district governor is among 25 people killed after a fierce battle between Afghan troops and Taleban fighters in Afghanistan, officials say. Abdul Qoudoas, the district chief of Musa Qala, was killed by Taleban fighters fleeing after a 12-hour battle in the neighbouring Sangeen district. Helmand's deputy governor told the BBC that at one point, he and 100 soldiers were surrounded by 200 Taleban. It is the most serious fighting between the two sides for two years. Five police officers and some 20 Taleban fighters are said to have been killed in the fighting in Helmand province. Taleban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousuf denied reports of Taleban deaths, saying only two fighters had been wounded. Mirwais Afghan of the BBC Pashto service, who has been to the area, says most of the villagers have fled. "The actual fighting is over in Sangeen but a search operation is ongoing," Afghan interior ministry spokesman, Yousuf Stanizai, is quoted as saying by AFP. "The area has been sealed off." An estimated 600 Afghan government troops along with 200 policemen have been rushed to the area, the deputy governor of Helmand province, Haji Mullah Mir, told the BBC. American soldiers are also present, he said. Troops retreat The deputy governor said he and the surrounded troops only managed to break through the Taleban after 200 more soldiers arrived to help them. He said the fighting started after a local police commander travelled to Helmand's Sangeen district in pursuit of Taleban forces from the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah. Mr Mir and his detachment came to the police commander's aid, but found themselves surrounded when the Taleban attacked from four different points. US military aircraft are also said to have dropped bombs on the area. He said troops retreated because they said civilians could have been killed if the fighting continued. Earlier this month, an Afghan aid worker was killed in Helmand by suspected Taleban members. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/south_asia/4680260.stm Published: 2006/02/04 11:42:57 GMT -------------------------- 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/
