Afghan and United States troops backed by British warplanes pounded a mountain hideout in southern Afghanistan in a day-long battle that left more than 76 Taliban guerrillas dead. The battle was the bloodiest engagement yet in a summer of escalating violence that has dimmed hopes for an early end to the Taliban insurgency.
Harrier jets flew alongside A-10 ”tankbuster” aircraft and helicopter gunships which strafed a mountainside area US officials described as a ”rebel haven” in Kandahar province late into Tuesday night.
The British planes, equipped with laser-guided bombs, provided air support only, said Lieutenant Gemma Fullman, a British forces spokesperson. ”They did not drop any munitions,” she said.
At least 12 Afghan police and soldiers died and five American soldiers were wounded in the operation, which continued on Wednesday.
It later emerged that a U-2 spy plane involved in the operation crashed while returning to its base in the United Arab Emirates, killing the pilot. A Pentagon official said there was no indication of hostile fire.
The US-led coalition has killed more than 120 Taliban insurgents since the weekend, in addition to another 240 killed since early March. At least 29 Americans, 39 Afghan police and 125 civilians died in the same period.
Wednesday’s search and attack operation, codenamed Catania, sought to flush out militants from a notoriously pro-Taliban mountain area straddling Zabul and Kandahar provinces.
”This mission is an ongoing effort to take away enemy sanctuaries,” said a US army spokesperson. ”We are not letting up on the enemy and will continue to pursue them until the fighting stops.”
It was one of the highest death tolls since US forces toppled the Taliban in 2001.
Speaking from the battlefield, General Salim Khan, the commander of 400 policemen, said he had retrieved the bodies of more than 76 Taliban. ”Their camps were decimated. Bodies lay everywhere. Heavy machine guns and AK-47s were scattered alongside blankets, kettles and food,” he told Associated Press. ”Some of the Taliban were also killed in caves where they were hiding, and US helicopters pounded them.”
The bloodshed, centred in the volatile south and southeastern provinces, bodes ill for next September’s presidential election.
Two months ago US generals dismissed the Taliban insurgency as fatally weakened following a quiet winter. They talked up a programme to entice rebels to the government side with an offer of amnesty.
But a recent surge in Iraq-style violence, possibly supported by al-Qaeda militants, forced an abrupt change of tactics.
Last month a suicide bomber attacked a Kandahar mosque, killing 20 people. Almost every day insurgents assassinate pro-government officials, elders and clerics, and coalition forces are faced with more powerful roadside bombs and more daring attacks.
Wednesday’s coalition mission captured a group that had seized Mian Nishin, a district capital 400km south-west of Kabul, last Thursday, said Khan, the deputy police chief.
The Taliban took 31 police officers hostage, executing eight. The fate of the other 23 was unknown.
The incidents caused sudden deterioration in cross-border relations with Pakistan, made worse with the uncovering of a plot to assassinate the former US ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad.
Afghan officials blamed Pakistan for failing to crack down on militants sheltering inside the lawless tribal areas. Islamabad denied the charges.
United States President George Bush phoned the leaders of both countries to soothe tempers after a series of angry exchanges on Tuesday.
Britain is due to assume control of the southern military sector from March next year. Some reports suggest 5 000 British troops could be deployed in October.
”It’s still in the planning stage,” said Fullman. – Guardian Unlimited Â