Posted on 12/05/2007 7:34:55 PM PST by blam
Allies prepare to seize Taliban stronghold
By Tom Coghlan, Kabul Correspondent
Last Updated: 3:01am GMT 06/12/2007
A key Taliban-held town in southern Afghanistan is expected to fall to British troops and the national army within a matter of days.
Troops from the Royal Irish Regiment board a Chinook helicopter taking them to the outskirts of Musa Qala
Residents report that Nato aircraft have dropped leaflets warning of an imminent assault on Musa Qala in the north of Helmand province.
The town is of huge symbolic value to the Taliban. It has been in its hands for 10 months and is the only urban centre that the Islamist group has been able to take and hold.
Western sources have told The Daily Telegraph that it is planned that Afghan forces will lead the assault - the first time that the fledgling national army has undertaken an operation on such a scale.
After advancing from the base at Sangin, the British and Afghan troops are now said to be just two miles from the town. Local people have now begun to flee into the surrounding desert.
advertisement"Anything could happen, it is in God's hands," said a member of the tribal council of the town, who begged not to be named for fear of reprisals.
The air-dropped leaflets gave warning that the Taliban would be pursued from the area and urged the tribal leaders in Musa Qala to eject the insurgents themselves.
Contacted by satellite telephone, Taliban commanders stated that they had already mined routes to the town, which is about the size of Cambridge. They also claimed to have captured and destroyed a British tank.
"I have 300 Mujahideen with me," said Mullah Ahmad Muslim. "We have brought our best artillery. We have ZSU anti-aircraft guns in place to attack the helicopters."
But when asked whether the Taliban would stand and fight in Musa Qala, he did not rule out the possibility of a withdrawal into the Taliban-held mountains to the north. "The Mujahideen are ready to fight. It is hard to say whether we will make a tactical withdrawal. We will see."
One town resident said that Mullah Tor Jan, the overall Taliban commander in the town, had told local leaders that they would "save the town from destruction" by withdrawing once a "screen" of his fighters to the south of the town was breached by British forces.
However, on their website, the Taliban issued a blood-curdling rejoinder to the warnings of imminent attack. It read: "Foreign occupiers and their internal mercenaries are once again targeting Musa Qala.
"They are dropping leaflets from the air calling on the people to leave their homes as the area will be bombed and their homes will be rebuilt in a modern style.
"It is a known fact that wherever they have gone with all their power, their strength has melted, their equipment has been destroyed, their skulls have remained [on the battlefield], and they have left the battlefield defeated and broken. The Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate are completely confident that the enemy will not be able to advance one step, and with every step their tanks will be set on fire."
One local tribal leader said: "Everyone knows that the town can be taken, but to keep power there is the key thing.
"It depends on the skill of the government to make the people trust them.
"If they are not skilful, then the people will turn to the Taliban."
Trooper Jack Sadler
Trooper killed in Helmand
A British soldier killed in a roadside bombing near Musa Qala on Tuesday was named last night as Jack Sadler.
Trooper Sadler, 21, from Devon, was injured along with two others in a vehicle on patrol in Helmand Province, the Ministry of Defence said. All three were evacuated to Camp Bastion, where Trooper Sadler died. The other soldiers' injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.
Trooper Sadler was serving with the Honourable Artillery Company, 4/73 Special Observation Battery, Brigade Reconnaissance Force.
their homes will be rebuilt in a modern style
From: Taliban
To: NATO Forces
Thanks for the tip.
Seems to me they oughta just shut up about it 'til it's over. Are they by any chance owned by the New York Times?
If so, ignore my question.
No, the nyt would have used much better maps to alert the enemy.
They already dropped leaflets that the attack was imminent - there’s nothing to hide. Everyone in the town, enemy and friendly, knows we’re coming.
Odd that statement. Moving around the Helmand province hasn't been particularly difficult according to recent reports. Maybe I'm missing something.
5.56mm
Perhaps you could post a copy of the leaflet, so we could compare it to the information divulged in this article.
The Sadler name has a storied military history, in the US. RIP, Jack. May the politicians preserve the victory you and other brave souls like you have won on the battlefield.
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