NATO: Senior Taliban Commander Killed
Coalition Says Air Strike In Helmand Hit Bismullah Akhund, Suspected Of Supplying Weapons
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Afghan soldiers stand over the dead bodies of Taliban militants after they were killed in a failed ambush on Afghan forces in Qara Bagh district of Ghazni province, south west of Kabul, Afghanistan, July 15, 2008. (AP Photo/Rahmatullah Naikzad)
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Face covered Taliban militants pose before they execute two Afghan women in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, on July 12, 2008. (AP PHOTO)
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The military alliance said that Bismullah Akhund, an insurgent leader in the southern province of Helmand, was killed on Saturday in Naw Zad district. It did not say how Akhund died.
NATO accused Akhund of supplying weapons and roadside bombs that have killed Afghan and foreign forces in the area - a hub of the insurgency wracking Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi, a defense ministry spokesman, said "tens of enemy" were killed during a joint NATO-Afghan army operation in the western province of Herat.
NATO confirmed it launched an air strike against insurgents that "was effective." It provided no other details.
There were varying accounts of the death toll.
The head of Herat's provincial council, Humayun Azizi, said 10 to 12 militants were killed and that there were also reports of civilian casualties from the air strikes.
NATO had no immediate comment on the operation.
Abdul Shukur, the Shindand police chief, said three houses were destroyed during the clashes. He said two local militant commanders and their two sons were among the dead.
Four wounded civilians - two children, one man and one woman - were brought to Herat hospital for treatment, Azizi said. Azizi said the raid targeted a militant cell.
He said they were also suspected in kidnappings and said they were holding at least 15 people hostage. It was not clear if any of those allegedly held were killed during the raid.
On Wednesday, the U.S.-led coalition said eight civilians died in air strikes called in after one of its patrols came under attack in neighboring Farah province.
The issue of civilian casualties has caused friction between the Afghan government and U.S. and NATO troops, and has undermined the standing of Western-backed President Hamid Karzai.
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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if you were really the majority then your cretin-in-chief would be in charge
Posted by Nancy_Naive
Great post Nancy! Really puts it in perspective.
It figures...we know who you are.
Posted by factsearcher
When the headline is bin Laden killed - Official - then we of the jaded majority will cheer. I have no doubt that we would have been long gone and victoriously from Afghanistan if the cretin-in-chief hadn''t sidelined into Iraq for no good reason.
It figures...we know who you are.
What''s this? The 486th "Senior Taliban Commander" that''s been killed so far?
since as it turned out Bismullah mistook
Draino for Brioschi and was dead on the
ground when the pilot said "Heck let''s get
credit for this! Our Stay-The-Course
leader needs all he can get!"
- by nssherlock1 July 17, 2008 10:03 AM EDT
- This story played out after about the 10th time this administration used it in Iraq. Not buying it anymore.
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