Al Qaeda fighters repel attack: US soldier, two Afghans killed
GARDEZ (Afghanistan), March 2: Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters killed a US soldier, two Afghans and wounded others on Saturday in repelling an attack in eastern Afghanistan described as the biggest battle since the Taliban were routed last December.
Afghan soldiers, who went into the battle aided by US advisers and B-52 bombers, said in their initial assault they were forced to retreat under withering fire from 3,000 to 5,000 diehard fighters in bunkers on snowy mountains in Paktia province.
They said there were a number of Arab and other foreign fighters among their foes.
The US military said at least one US service member and two Afghan troops were killed and others wounded in the battle that started at 2am on Saturday (0200 PST) east of Gardez, the capital of Paktia province.
“US, coalition and Afghan forces have sustained casualties,” the US Central Command said in a release from its headquarters in Tampa, Florida. “Initial reports are that one US service member and two Afghan forces have been killed, an unspecified number of US and Afghan forces have been injured.”
US military officials said the assault was the biggest offensive carried out by US and Afghan troops since Taliban and Al Qaeda forces were routed by US-led attacks that brought down the Taliban in early December.
The Afghan soldiers said they feared some of their units might have been cut off or surrounded in the battle about 30km east of Gardez near the Pakistan border.
B-52 STRIKES: ”Some people think there are 3,000 fighters against us. Some think 5,000,” one Afghan soldier involved in the fighting said.
A Reuters television cameraman saw flashes and loud explosions from B-52 bombing strikes. At least two US Chinook military helicopters headed out of the battle area of Shahi Ko in Arma district. Bombing continued into Saturday night.
The Pentagon has said pockets of Al Qaeda network and followers of Mullah Omar have been travelling to the area from all over Afghanistan and regrouping in the isolated mountains dotted with caves.
The soldiers back from the front said they launched their attack with a force of about 1,000, accompanied by about 60 US advisers.
“There were 200 of us and five carloads of Americans with us. There were no civilian casualties, at least not in this area. Right now the whole campaign has retreated. We failed and our campaign did not succeed,” Rahmatullah, who was at the front, told Reuters.
