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View Full Version : U.S. and Coalition Aircraft Bomb Rebel Positions in Central Afghanistan



thedrifter
02-11-03, 09:23 AM
The Associated Press
Published: Feb 11, 2003

BAGRAM, Afghanistan (AP) - U.S. and coalition jets pounded rebel positions on a central Afghanistan mountainside with bombs and bullets after U.S. ground soldiers came under attack, a U.S. military spokesman said Tuesday. No U.S. injuries were reported.
The aerial assault was triggered Monday morning when U.S. Special Forces were targeted by machine gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades by forces overlooking the Bagran valley, said Col. Roger King, the U.S. spokesman at the Bagram Air Base.

Coalition F-16 jets were scrambled in support of the ground troops, dropping five 500-pound bombs and firing 20mm bullets at five armed men. The jets also targeted several caves.

King did not know how many enemy forces remained or if any were injured in the barrage. The enemy forces were located on a mountainside overlooking the valley, which is in northern Oruzgan province.

"We had troops that were moving through the valley. It was just around dawn and the troops came under fire from the ridge line on either side," King said. "Special Forcers were conducting an operation in that valley, looking for weapons caches and enemy personnel. We got some reports that there might be enemy personnel there and it looks like the reports were true."

The U.S. military was unsure who the rebels were or who they were aligned with. "They fall under the heading of personnel who are against the coalition and against the government of Afghanistan," King said.

Sempers,

Roger

eddief
02-11-03, 10:58 AM
It looks like we'll be in Afghanistan for a long time. I see us
having to have permanent bases, and having to stomp out
brushfires every now and then.