'Fifty die' in Afghan air strike

sunb!

sunb!

Forum Barbecuer
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/5003478.stm

Dozens of people are reported to have been killed after US-led coalition forces launched a raid on a village in southern Afghanistan.

A US military spokesman says they believe up to 50 Taleban have been killed in the attack.

But a BBC correspondent has received reports that 30 civilians were killed in the attack and 50 others injured, including children.

The US-led troops said they had no reports of civilian casualties.

'Homes were bombed'

The attack was launched in Kandahar's Panjwayi district where Taleban clashed with Afghan security forces last week.

Eyewitnesses and local doctors say children were among those injured in the US air strike.

A BBC reporter who visited a local hospital spoke to villagers who had been injured in the attack.

One said Taleban fighters had taken control of his house to launch missile attacks from the roof, and that many of his family members had died in the bombing raid.

"They started to bomb our village at midnight and continued up to this morning," another eyewitness, Attah Mohammad, told AFP.

Another man said Taleban fighters had taken refuge at a local madrassa [Islamic religious school] after the recent fighting.

"Helicopters bombed the madrassa and some of the Taleban ran from there and into people's homes," Haji Ikhlaf told the Associated Press.

"Then those homes were bombed."

US-led forces have sealed off the area and are carrying out an investigation.

The BBC's Alastair Leithead says Panjwayi is a known stronghold of the Taleban and a number of high-ranking Taleban commanders had recently been captured there.

The US-led coalition in Afghanistan said the purpose of the operation was "to detain individuals suspected of terrorist and anti-Afghanistan activities".

"These individuals were active members of the Taleban network and have conducted attacks against coalition and Afghan forces as well as civilians," it said in a statement.

Violence escalates

There has been a dramatic upsurge in fighting in southern Afghanistan over the past week.

Officials estimate up to 200 rebels have been killed in the region since last Wednesday, in some of the fiercest fighting since the fall of the Taleban in late 2001.

On Sunday, a suicide car bomb attack apparently targeting a US military convoy killed three people in Kabul - the driver and two civilians.

Our correspondent said it was the first suicide attack in the capital this year.
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What a hell-hole! I think that the lines between civvies and part-time Taliban fighters are very thin and hazy. Kids can place bombs next to the road, women can fire RPG's..... And with every victim more hatred starts and more people are willing to fight the coalition. The sad part is that there are innocent people dying next to all others.
 
If your neighbour is making IED's and you don't move house... sorry but you are a dumb donkey.
 
That's not going to help the coalition's image in Afghanistan. What is the Afghani army doing about all this though, it seems like foreigners are always doing the fighting for them. Their militias just patrol the streets but rarely do i hear about afghan on afghan clashes like in a battle.
 
*claps hands in joy*

Thank God. Keep up the good work boys!!! Take out them Taliban men!!! It's so annoying lol. It sucks to hear that so many civilians died though :( RIP

MoRtArSnCaLiBeRs
 
Leave it to the BBC to post lies. Their bias never ceases to amaze me.

At this time, there are 16 confirmed civilian deaths (not 30 as the BBC lies) and 15 (not 50 as the BBC lied again) civilian injured (yes, that number includes some children). This is the reported number from doctors, PJs and medics that are/were treating the casualties.

If you wish to have a source on this, go to Google News and search "Afghanistan Bombing" most of the papers, despite their bias, are reporting the correct number of civilian casualties.

The Taliban had decided to take up in civilian homes. This isn't anything new for them, and unfortunately, when they do that, we cannot avoid civilian casualties.

What is the Afghani army doing about all this though, it seems like foreigners are always doing the fighting for them. Their militias just patrol the streets but rarely do i hear about afghan on afghan clashes like in a battle.
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Just because you do not hear about it, doesn't mean it isn't happening, you only get the news the media deems interesting. Look harder and you will find a few reported accounts. The media isn't interested in what the Afghans are doing, only what US and ISAF are doing.
 
What a hell-hole! I think that the lines between civvies and part-time Taliban fighters are very thin and hazy. Kids can place bombs next to the road, women can fire RPG's..... And with every victim more hatred starts and more people are willing to fight the coalition. The sad part is that there are innocent people dying next to all others.
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Remember Vietnam?

What is the Afghani army doing about all this though, it seems like foreigners are always doing the fighting for them. Their militias just patrol the streets but rarely do i hear about afghan on afghan clashes like in a battle.
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Australian SAS do a massive amount of work with the Afghan Army. Yes they are dying for their country.
 
WarMachine said:
Scroll down in this article to the chart http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0523/p04s01-wosc.html
It shows that about 75% of the troops in afghanistan are natives. If that's the case then what are the coalition forces role at the moment?
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lol I know alllllllllll about Afghanistan. :wink:

Again, I say to you:

Just because you do not hear about it, doesn't mean it isn't happening, you only get the news the media deems interesting. Look harder and you will find a few reported accounts. The media isn't interested in what the Afghans are doing, only what US and ISAF are doing.
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How's the verse go... eyes to see and ears to hear? Sorry, was thinking aloud again... carry on, nevermind the ramblings of this hubristic old man.
:)
 
PJ24 said:
Just because you do not hear about it, doesn't mean it isn't happening, you only get the news the media deems interesting. Look harder and you will find a few reported accounts. The media isn't interested in what the Afghans are doing, only what US and ISAF are doing.
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The more I look at it, the more it seems that the media is only interested in what the US is doing; they give a rats ass on ISAF in general. You have to dig so hard to find some good news from Afghanistan that you can start as an undertaker if you want too.
 
sunb! said:
The more I look at it, the more it seems that the media is only interested in what the US is doing; they give a rats ass on ISAF in general. You have to dig so hard to find some good news from Afghanistan that you can start as an undertaker if you want too.
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There is more news about the US in the main stream media than about ISAF lately, definitely. That's not a good thing though. Like you said, the media isn't really interested in reporting the facts or the "good" stuff that comes out of there so the less attention given, the better it is for guys on the ground.

Up until recently, most of the US media has forgotten the US was even in Afghanistan.

A good way to check out a lot of articles on one particular subject is it hit up Google News.

I searched "ISAF Afghanistan" and these are the results I got for today. They have a lot of different media sources (print and otherwise) they search, very good for finding obscure news and checking stories to see if they match etc.
 
bulldogg said:
If your neighbour is making IED's and you don't move house... sorry but you are a dumb donkey.
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You think your neieghbor would tell you if he was making IEDs? And if he was, would you move out overnight if you earned 400$ a year?

phoenix80 said:
Those dead were Taliban and I am glad they are gone
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Yeah it helps to sleep at night if you define everybody you kill as an enemy posthumously. "Who was that we killed? I dunno, we killed them, so they must've been the enemy."
 
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Mohmar Deathstrike said:
You think your neieghbor would tell you if he was making IEDs? And if he was, would you move out overnight if you earned 400$ a year?
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They don't have to tell you, it's pretty obvious to the community when they are.
 
Yes I would move, my family is more important than anything. All it takes is a jackass and a few carpets to roll up the stuff. In fact at that low of an income there isnt much to move so all the easier. And Mohammar in these communities, everyone knows what their neighbour is up to. You aren't there so how very arrogant of you to sit in judgement of soldiers on the ground thousands of kilometers from whence you sit and spew. To rectify this I would humbly suggest putting your arse where your heart is and go pop round for a visit.

Here's a couple items for those who feel bad about this to stew over...

Package-Type Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs)
Concealed Mortar/Artillery Projectiles

The enemy in Iraq has used IEDs consisting of mortar and artillery projectiles as the explosive device. The most common explosives used are military munitions, usually 122 mm or greater mortar/tank/artillery.

The use and characteristics of these have included the following:

* Thrown from overpasses.
* Thrown in front of approaching vehicles from roadside.
* Usually thrown by males—who are not always adults.
* Emplaced in potholes (covered with dirt).
* Emplaced along MSRs and alternate supply routes (targeting vehicles).
* Employed along unimproved roads (targeting patrols).
* Employed with 120-mm and larger artillery or mortar projectiles.
* Found alone or in groups.
* IEDs behind which are placed cinder blocks or piles of sand to direct blast into the kill zone.
* Command detonated—either by wire or remote device.
* Time-delay triggered IEDs. IEDs that can be detonated by cordless phone from a car (allows for mobile firing platform and prevents tracing or triangulation).
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http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/intro/ied-packaged.htm

Survivability

A study of the Soviet/Afghan war has proven extremely useful in addressing medical issues associated with mine strikes. Throughout the course of that war, 30 to 40 percent of trauma cases treated by Soviet medical personnel were caused by mine strikes. Necessarily, the Soviets adopted measures to improve force protection, gained a greater understanding of the effects of a mine strike on the body, improved casualty evacuation techniques, and implemented measures to plan for medical contingencies at the lowest level.

Some simple mine countermeasures that increase mine strike survivability include—

* Training (refresher) in first aid.
* Training in mine awareness.
* Wearing flak jackets.
* Sandbagging the vehicle floors using fine aggregates because large particles become missiles.
* Riding on top of armored vehicles when the tactical situation permits.
* Leaving vehicle hatches cracked with the latch pin in place to permit dispersion of the concussive effects of a mine blast.
* Disseminating information through intelligence channels and/or the mine information coordination cell.

Injuries sustained during a mine strike are caused by the pressure wave of the primary blast, the penetrating and nonpenetrating wounds of the secondary blast, and the injuries associated with being thrown some distance. The combat medic or lifesaver must be aware of multiple wounds and combination wounds that usually result from a mine strike and must know how to thoroughly treat the patient. Additionally, treatment of shock becomes important, especially since 86.5 percent of Soviet mine strike victims went into shock. Fifteen percent of shock cases were irreversible, and the victim died in a short period of time.
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http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/intro/ied.htm

These are nasty, unstable and intended to kill indiscriminately.

I'll say it again... if my neighbour is engaged in building these devices and I don't move I am a dumb donkey. Even if you aren't worried about coalition forces turning your neighbourhood into a crater you should be worried about the dumb ass next door turning it into a crater.
 
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