Bus Bombing Kills Afghans; Operation Mountain Thrust Continues

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 15, 2006 – A bus bombing in Afghanistan killed several passengers this morning, and Operation Mountain Thrust continues in the southern portion of the country, military officials said.

A bus exploded near the intersection of highways 1 and 4 in Kandahar City at about 8 a.m. today. The explosion, caused by a bomb on the bus, killed seven and injured 17. It was believed to be a deliberate attack against Afghan civilians.

Afghan national security forces and coalition forces have responded by assisting with the evacuation of casualties to the Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar City.

"This is a cowardly and senseless attack on innocent Afghans, trying to make a better life for themselves and their families," said Canadian army Brig. Gen. David Fraser, commander of the coalition forces in southern Afghanistan. "We will assist the Afghan authorities in their investigation and provide any support they need to bring those responsible to justice."

In southern Afghanistan, Operation Mountain Thrust is moving forward with large-scale operations in southern Afghanistan.

The operation is a successive phase of an ongoing campaign to disrupt enemy forces, interdict safe havens, extend the reach of the government of Afghanistan, and facilitate good governance, reconstruction and humanitarian assistance, according to officials.

More than 10,000 Afghan and coalition forces are participating in Mountain Thrust, which will put heavy pressure on insurgent sanctuaries and known areas of operation in order to disrupt insurgents' ability to intimidate the Afghan people. Coalition forces are supporting Afghan national security forces, which have the lead for this operation that began in mid-May.

These operations are the precursor to follow-on operations that will strengthen good governance in the region, improve security, and enable reconstruction and economic development, officials said.

Recent operations in Kandahar, Helmand and Oruzgan pursuing enemy fighters and leadership are a direct result of Mountain Thrust.

There is no scheduled end date for Mountain Thrust. Operations will continue until objectives are met.

This operation also will help set conditions for NATO-International Security Assistance Force transition also scheduled later this summer.

(Compiled from Combined Forces Command Afghanistan news releases.)


http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jun2006/20060615_5424.html

Coalition forces kill 45 in Afghanistan
By TINI TRAN, Associated Press Writer

Coalition forces pressed forward with a major offensive in southern Afghanistan, killing an estimated 45 insurgents in attacks on two Taliban militant camps, military officials said Saturday.

Most died when Afghan and coalition forces surprised militants as they gathered at a "known enemy camp" in Khod Valley, part of the Shaheed Hasas district of Uruzgan province, the military said in a statement.

"Coalition forces tracked the development of this meeting until there were more than 50 extremists gathered before attacking," said military spokesman Lt. Col. Paul Fitzpatrick.

About 40 militants were killed, including bombers, their financial backers and local leaders responsible for attacks against Afghan civilians and the army, the military said.

"Coalition forces have delivered a quick and severe blow to the enemy today," Fitzpatrick said.

Separately, Afghan and coalition forces conducted a raid on a Taliban compound near Tarin Kowt, the capital of Uruzgan, killing five insurgents, the military said. They also seized about eight pounds of opium.

One U.S. soldier was wounded in the raid. He was later listed in stable condition.

Also Friday, two coalition soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in Asadabad district in eastern Kunar province as they were conducting a security sweep of the area, the military said. Their nationalities were not released.

The combat operations were part of Operation Mountain Thrust, the largest anti-Taliban military campaign undertaken since the former regime's 2001 ouster in an American-led invasion.

More than 10,000 U.S.-led troops were deployed this week across southern Afghanistan to quell a Taliban resurgence before NATO-led forces take over from the coalition this summer.

Earlier this week, coalition forces said they killed an estimated 40 militants in a remote, mountainous area of southeastern Paktika province in operations in support of Mountain Thrust. One coalition member was wounded in that operation.

U.S., Canadian, British and Afghan troops have fanned out over four restive provinces — Helmand, Uruzgan, Kandahar and Zabul — to hunt down Taliban fighters blamed for the surge in ambushes and bombings.

Extremist forces, primarily Taliban, have escalated attacks against coalition and Afghan troops, particularly in the south, in the bloodiest campaign of violence launched since 2001. More than 500 people, mostly militants, have been killed in the past month.

Also Friday, Afghan authorities arrested 12 Taliban fighters who were attending the funeral of a slain commander in the Qarabagh district of Ghazni province, governor Haji Sher Alam said.

Afghan police and soldiers also confiscated a dozen AK-47 assault rifles, eight rocket-propelled grenade launchers and four motorbikes, he said.

Four highway policemen were killed in southern Kandahar province when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle, provincial officials said.

Coalition forces also came under attack in southern Uruzgan province and neighboring Zabul province but no casualties were reported, said coalition spokesman Maj. Quentin Innis.

Operation Mountain Thrust began in mid-May with limited attacks and raids launched by coalition forces. The offensive's main phase opened Thursday and is expected to expand further over the coming days.



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Airstrikes Rise in Afghanistan as Fighting Intensifies
In Response to More Aggressive Taliban, Attacks Are Double Those in Iraq War
Thomas Ricks

http://www.antiwar.com/lind/?articleid=9174

June 20, 2006
Air Strikes in Afghanistan: Aargh!

by William S. Lind
This Sunday's sacred ritual of Mass, bagels, and tea with the Grumpy Old Men's Club was rudely disrupted by the headline of the day's Washington Post: "U.S. Airstrikes Rise in Afghanistan as Fighting Intensifies." Great, I thought; it's probably cheaper than funding a recruiting campaign for the Taliban and lots more effective at creating new guerrillas.

Getting into the story just made the picture worse:

"As fighting in Afghanistan has intensified over the past three months, the U.S. military has conducted 340 airstrikes there, more than twice the 160 carried out in the much higher-profile war in Iraq, according to data from the Central Command. …

"The airstrikes appear to have increased in recent days as the United States and its allies have launched counteroffensives against the Taliban in the south and southeast, strafing and bombing a stronghold in Uruzgan province and pounding an area near Khost with 500-pound bombs."

One might add, "The Taliban has expressed its thanks to the U.S. Air Force for greatly increasing its popular support in the bombed areas."

At present, the bombing is largely tied to the latest Somme-like "Big Push," Operation Mountain Thrust, in which more than 10,000 U.S.-led troops are trying another failed approach to guerrilla war, the sweep. I have no doubt it would break the Mullah Omar Line, if it existed, which it doesn't. Even the Brits seem to have drunk the Kool-Aid this time, with the June 19 Washington Times reporting that "British commanders declared for the first time yesterday that their troops were enjoying success in the restive south of Afghanistan after pushing faster than expected into rebel territory." Should be in Berlin by September, old chap.

Of course, all this is accompanied by claims of many dead Taliban, who are conveniently interchangeable with dead locals who weren't Taliban. Bombing from the air is the best way to drive up the body count, because you don't even have to count bodies; you just make estimates based on the claimed effectiveness of your weapons, and feed them to ever gullible reporters. By the time Operation Mountain Thrust is done thrusting into mountains, we should have killed the Taliban several times over.

Icing this particular cake is a strategic misconception of the nature of the Afghan war that only American generals could swallow. According to the same Post story,

"U.S. officials say the activity is a response to an increasingly aggressive Taliban, whose leaders realize that long-term trends are against them as them as the power of the Afghan central government grows.

"'I think the Taliban realize they have a window to act,' Army Maj. Gen. Benjamin Freakley, commander of the 22,000 U.S. troops in the country, said in a recent interview. 'The enemy is working against a window that he knows is closing.'"

Except that the power of the U.S.-created Afghan government is receding, not growing, and the Taliban's "window" only closes when Christ comes again.

Aargh! The last time a nation's civilian and military leadership was this incapable of learning from experience was under the Ching dynasty.

Perhaps it's time to offer a short refresher course in Guerrilla War 101:

Air power works against you, not for you. It kills lots of people who weren't your enemy, recruiting their relatives, friends, and fellow tribesmen to become your enemies. In this kind of war, bombers are as useful as 42 cm. siege mortars.
Big, noisy, offensives, launched with lots of warning, achieve nothing. The enemy just goes to ground while you pass on through, and he's still there when you leave. Big Pushes are the opposite of the "ink blot" strategy, which is the only thing that works, when anything can.
Putting the Big Push together with lots of bombing in Afghanistan's Pashtun country means we end up fighting most if not all of the Pashtun. In Afghan wars, the Pashtun always win in the end.
Quisling governments fail because they cannot achieve legitimacy.
You need closure, but your guerilla enemy doesn't. He not only can fight until Doomsday, he intends to do just that – if not you, then someone else.
The bigger the operations you have to undertake, the more surely your enemy is winning.
The June 19 Washington Times also reported that

"The ambassador from Afghanistan traveled to America's heartland to promote his war-torn country as the 'heart of Asia' and a good place to do business. …

"In his region, 'all roads lead to Afghanistan,' he said…"

Asia doesn't have any heart, and Afghanistan doesn't have any roads, not even one we can follow to get out.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/0...ck_at_full.html

U.S. Back at Full War Footing in Afghanistan
June 20, 2006 11:07 AM

Brian Ross Reports:

The United States military is quietly carrying out the largest military offensive in Afghanistan since U.S. troops invaded the country in 2001.

"The Taliban has made a comeback, and we have the next 90 days to crush them," said a senior U.S. military official.

The offensive, "Operation Mountain Thrust," involves almost 11,000 U.S. troops and is focused on four southern Afghanistan provinces.

The Taliban has re-emerged as the Afghan government "has created vacuums of power" says the official. Proceeds from the growing opium trade in the region has helped the Taliban obtain new weapons and pay local officials.

The Taliban leader, Mullah Omar, remains at large despite a $10 million reward offered by the United States. U.S. military officials believe he has established a safe haven in Pakistan, where U.S. soldiers cannot

U.S. troops fight off Taliban attack
By JASON STRAZIUSO, Associated Press Writer

U.S. troops carrying out an anti-militant offensive fought off a Taliban attack on their mountaintop camp Tuesday, while a roadside blast in the same part of southern Afghanistan left a Romanian soldier dead.

The Americans used machine guns and mortars to repel the attackers in Helmand province's remote Baghran Valley. U.S. warplanes were called in to bomb a militant hideout and the American military said a few of the fighters were probably killed.

Local residents said an elderly couple was killed in the air raid.

The clash was the fiercest encountered by troops from the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division from Fort Drum, N.Y., since they were air-dropped on a mountaintop over the weekend to block Taliban supply routes.

It followed a bombing raid by coalition helicopters on a Taliban camp in the same area late Monday that killed five militants and wounded eight, the Helmand provincial governor's spokesman said.

The American troops are among more than 10,000 U.S., British, Canadian and Afghan soldiers taking part in Operation Mountain Thrust, a campaign to try to kill or capture militants responsible for a surge in violence recently.

More than 600 people, mostly militants, have died in the past month as insurgents launched their deadliest campaign since the Taliban's 2001 ouster. That includes about 110 militants killed since the offensive began in earnest last week. At least 10 coalition soldiers have died since mid-May.

Up to 60 militants launched Tuesday morning's attack on U.S. soldiers dug into a Baghran Valley mountain ridge, firing a barrages of mortar or rocket-propelled grenades, said company commander Capt. Jared Wilson, 28, of Petaluma, Calif.

U.S. forces responded, lighting up the night sky with machine gun tracer fire and mortars. No U.S. soldiers were hurt.

It was likely a "few" of the militants were killed or wounded but no bodies were recovered, Wilson said.

"The enemy ... is very good at pulling their dead from the battlefield," he said.

Troops called in U.S. air support to hit two compounds where suspected militants had gathered close to the American forces. An A-10 Warthog bomber strafed the position before a B-1 bomber dropped a 2,000 pound bomb, sending a plume of smoke soaring into the moonlit sky.

At daybreak, soldiers hiked down the steep mountainside to assess the damage.

Gul Ahmed, an Afghan man living in the compound, said Taliban fighters had taken over the settlement and his elderly parents, who were too old to flee, died in the airstrike.

"My home is ruined, my family is buried in rubble and my animals are dead," said Ahmed, whose mud-brick home was the only building destroyed in the compound. "Why would I let the Taliban in?"

Soldiers questioned about a dozen men in the compound and surrounding area for intelligence. A rough drawing of U.S. positions on the ridge was found sketched out in chalk on a mud brick wall.

Wilson, the U.S. captain, told village elders that the U.S. mission would help the Afghan government extend its reach into northern Helmand where the government has little official presence.

"I want them to understand I am very sorry for the loss of the man's (Ahmed's) family," Wilson told the elders through an interpreter. "But we would not have had to do what we did if the Taliban had not been here."

In neighboring Kandahar province, a massive explosion tore apart a Romanian tank, killing one soldier and wounding three others, the Romanian Defense Ministry said.

A fourth soldier in the four-vehicle Romanian convoy was wounded in the leg when he stepped on another explosive device after trying to help the targeted vehicle, the statement said.

The Romanian troops were returning to their base at the time of the explosions. The first blast was so powerful, it split a tank in two and left its hull engulfed in flames, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene.

The attack took the number of Romanian soldiers killed since 2003 to at least four. Romania has about 700 peacekeeping troops in Afghanistan.

___

Associated Press writer Noor Khan contributed to this report from Kandahar.



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U.S. Military Warns of 'Significant Fighting' Ahead in Afghanistan
Wednesday, June 21, 2006

KABUL, Afghanistan — Southern Afghanistan will see "significant fighting" for several months as coalition troops push ahead with a major offensive to crush a resurgent Taliban force, the U.S. military said Wednesday.

The warning came a day after coalition and Afghan forces raided a Taliban meeting in the southern Helmand province, killing 20 insurgents, the Afghan military said. Separately, coalition soldiers accidentally fired on an unmarked police car at a checkpoint in eastern Kunar province, killing three policemen and wounding three, said Col. Tom Collins, a U.S. military spokesman.

Operation Mountain Thrust began in earnest last week with more than 10,000 Afghan, British, Canadian and American troops deploying throughout four southern provinces in the largest military operation since the Taliban regime was ousted by U.S.-led forces in 2001.

More than 600 people, mostly militants, have been killed in the past month as insurgents have launched their deadliest campaign of violence in years. At least 10 coalition soldiers have been killed in combat since mid-May.

"People should expect significant fighting in certain areas of the south over the coming months," Collins said during a press briefing in the capital, Kabul.
"That's the whole purpose of Mountain Thrust ... to go into the area where the government doesn't have a presence right now and take the threat out of those areas," he said.

U.S.-led soldiers and Afghan troops killed 20 insurgents Tuesday near Musa Qala, a remote town in the mountainous Helmand province, Afghan army commander Gen. Rahmatullah Roufi said. One Afghan soldier was wounded.

Coalition forces received information that insurgents had gathered there for a meeting and surrounded the area, Roufi said. Military officials recovered all 20 Taliban bodies, along with 22 AK-47s, seven rocket-propelled grenades and three heavy machine guns.

The police shootings happened when a car approached a checkpoint in Kunar province without slowing down, Collins said. Coalition soldiers saw that the occupants, who were not in uniform, were armed and "felt they were in immediate danger so they opened fire on the vehicle," he said.

Collins said the U.S.-led coalition "regrets the incident."

More than 90 enemy fighters have been killed in recent days as Taliban fighters have resisted the coalition push into areas they control, Collins said. The militants have been maintaining pressure on coalition forces with suicide attacks and ambushes.

"We are seeing the enemy operating in larger groups. They are fighting hard. They are clearly trying to stop our efforts to move into certain areas," he said.

The coalition offensive is timed to coincide with the upcoming transfer of command in the south this summer from U.S.-led forces to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.

"You will have significantly more troops down there as NATO progresses into the area," Collins said. "The Taliban will ultimately lose in that area."

http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,102261,00.html
Al-Qaida Second-In-Command Issues Video
Associated Press | June 22, 2006
CAIRO, Egypt - Al-Qaida's No. 2 leader issued a new videotape Thursday calling on Afghans to rise up against U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan in the wake of rioting last month in Kabul.

The video by Ayman al-Zawahri - which would be his sixth this year - was posted on an Islamic Web site known as a clearing house for al-Qaida and other militants' statements.

"I am calling upon the Muslims in Kabul in particular and in all Afghanistan in general and for the sake of God to stand up in an honest stand in the face of the infidel forces that are invading Muslim lands," said al-Zawahri, wearing a white turban and sitting in front of a black backdrop with an automatic rifle next to him.

He also calls on "the young men of Islam, in the universities and schools of Kabul, to carry out their duties in defense of their religion, honor, land and country."

The 3 1/2-minute tape appears to have been made the day after a May 29 accident in which a U.S. military truck crashed into traffic in Kabul, killing up to five people. The incident sparked anti-foreigner riots in Kabul that left about 20 people dead - the deadliest unrest in the Afghan capital since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.

"I direct my speech today to my Muslim brothers in Kabul who lived the bitter events yesterday and saw by their own eyes a new proof of the criminal acts of the American forces against the Afghani people," al-Zawahri said on the videotape.

Al-Zawahri makes no reference to the death of al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike north of Baghdad on June 7.

The tape came a day after the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan warned that "significant fighting" lies ahead as Taliban fighters resist the coalition push to sweep clear the southern region of the country ahead of a security hand over to NATO-led forces later this summer, military officials said.

Operation Mountain Thrust began in earnest last week with more than 10,000 Afghan, British, Canadian and American troops deploying throughout four southern provinces to crush a resurgent Taliban force in the largest military operation since the former regime's 2001 ouster.

More than 600 people, mostly militants, have been killed since May amid the deadliest campaign of insurgent-led violence in years. At least 10 coalition soldiers have been killed in combat since mid-May.

Unlike al-Zawahri's previous messages, which appeared aimed at Americans, the latest video has no English subtitles. He spoke in Arabic, and Web sites carried translations of his message in Pashtun and Farsi, two other languages widely spoken in Afghanistan.

The tape was first reported by IntelCenter, an Alexandria, Va.-based contractor that provides counterterrorism intelligence services to the U.S. government.

In the video, al-Zawahri also refers to alleged desecration of the Quran at U.S. detention facilities in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and mentions perceived insults against Muslims in Denmark, France and Italy.

He also refers by name to former President Clinton and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, along with writer Salman Rushdie, who was condemned to death by Iranian clerics in 1988.

The new message is part of a dramatic increase in videos and audiotapes by al-Qaida. Al-Qaida's leader Osama bin Laden has issued three tapes this year, along with the six from his deputy, the Egyptian-born al-Zawahri.

Bin Laden and al-Zawahri are believed to be hiding in the rugged border zone of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/22/world/as...artner=homepage
Al Qaeda Deputy Calls for Afghans to Fight U.S.

By CHRISTINE HAUSER
Published: June 22, 2006

Al Qaeda's second in command called in a videotape posted on the Internet today for Afghans to fight foreign forces in Afghanistan after a recent surge of violence, citing in particular a riot that erupted in Kabul last month after an American military truck crashed into cars and killed five people.

The Al Qaeda deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has often tried to position himself as an inspirational voice of a broader militant movement, but it is not entirely clear how much control he has over actual terrorist operations on the ground. Still, his latest message comes at a time when a springtime offensive by Taliban fighters has turned into their largest show of force since American forces chased the Taliban from power in late 2001.

"Muslim brothers in Kabul in particular and Afghanistan in general: Stand as one with the mujahideen until the invading forces are expelled and Afghanistan is liberated," Mr. Zawahiri said, according to excerpts on the Al Jazeera television network's Arabic Web site.

"I urge Muslims in schools and universities to take up their obligations to defend their religion and honor everywhere," he said.

Mr. Zawahiri said that the tape was recorded after the events of May 29, when an American military truck plowed into cars on a Kabul street and killed five people. The American embassy blamed a mechanical fault for the crash.

Between 12 and 14 people were killed, according to hospital and government officials, in ensuing riots that took on an anti-government and anti-American tinge.

Afghan and foreign officials, and local villagers blame a lack of United States-led coalition forces on the ground for a resurgence of the Taliban. American forces are ceding operations in southern Afghanistan to a NATO force and Dutch troops, and militants have taken advantage of the transition by clashing daily with coalition and Afghan forces across five provinces of southern Afghanistan.

Today, the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, said in a news conference that he was concerned about growing attacks by insurgents in Afghanistan and called for a "change of approach" by the international community in how it fights the Taliban, according to news agencies.

He said Mr. Zawahiri was his country's enemy and was responsible for its suffering.

Mr. Zawahiri is the deputy to Osama bin Ladin in Al Qaeda. He has often aimed his video and audiotape messages beyond Afghanistan's borders, trying to inspire conflict particularly in Iraq, where he said in a recent posting that the suicide bombing campaign had "broken America's back".

The United States Department of State said in its annual survey of global terrorism that "By remaining at large, and intermittently vocal, bin Laden and Zawahiri symbolize resistance to the international community, demonstrate they retain the capability to influence events, and inspire actual and potential terrorists."

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=13170

American general warns of threats to Afghanistan’s viability



WASHINGTON: Terrorism, drug-trafficking and corruption could threaten the viability of Afghanistan, the top US commander there said on Wednesday, warning that the Taliban is mounting larger and more effective attacks. “Much work needs to be done and the international community must remain patient and maintain an uncompromising long term commitment to Afghanistan’s success, if we are to prevail,” General Karl Eikenberry said.

“Most pressing, the continuing assaults on Afghanistan by international terrorism, as well as narco-trafficking and related government corruption could threaten the viability of the Afghan state,” he said.

Testifyng before the House Armed Services Committee, Eikenberry said the Taliban had reconstituted itself, particularly in southern Afghanistan, since being ousted from power by a US-led military campaign in late 2001. “We are seeing enemy forces now operate in formations of 40 to 50 fighters, they are demonstrating better command and control, and they are fighting hard,” he said. Violence has taken a sharp upturn this year with insurgent attacks, roadside bombings and suicide bombings coinciding with an expansion of a Nato-led peacekeeping force into the volatile southern part of the country.

“The enemy we face is not particularly strong, but the institutions of the Afghan state remain relatively weak. This situation is enabling the enemy to operate in the absence of government presence in some areas of the country,” the general said.

Meanwhile, defence Minister of Germany Franz Josef Jung said there had been a noticeable increase in attacks in Afghanistan and that they were not limited to the south and east-where the Taliban and its allies are most active-but were also occurring in the north, where 2,700 German troops are stationed. “So far this year we’ve had about as many attacks as we did in all of last year.

Up until now they’ve mostly been concentrated on the south and east but there are also attacks taking place in the north,” he said in an interview. Asked if he was worried about a possible “Iraq-ification” of Afghanistan, Jung said that was something he wanted to avoid. “I hope not. But one must say that meanwhile in Iraq we have seen the first democratic elections and democratically elected government in a long time,” he told Reuters.

“I only hope that Iraq will stabilise and that Afghanistan will also continue to stabilise and that a democratic and peaceful development will come.” Typical of the kind of daily violence in Afghanistan, a car blew up as it approached a US military convoy in Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing two people.