They just got a different tool to use than we do: They kill innocent lives to achieve objectives. That's what they do. And they're good. They get on the TV screens and they get people to ask questions about, well, you know, this, that or the other. I mean, they're able to kind of say to people: Don't come and bother us, because we will kill you. Bush - Joint News Conference with Blair - 28 July '06

Friday, February 03, 2006

Afghanistan: Fierce fighting awaits UK 'peacekeepers'

forbes/ap: American, Afghan Forces Battle Taliban

Fierce fighting involving U.S. warplanes and Afghan troops in southern Afghanistan left at least 16 suspected Taliban rebels and three police dead, an official said Friday.

Amir Mohammed Akhund, deputy governor of southern Helmand province, said more than 250 Afghan police and army troops were hunting dozens of militants in Sangin district, and U.S. planes had bombed the area.

Afghan forces had recovered the bodies of 16 dead militants, including local Taliban commander Mullah Thorjan, he said.

Thirteen Afghan forces and four Taliban were wounded, he said.

The clashes in Helmand, a hotbed of the anti-government insurgency and the drug trade, underline the challenges that will face NATO peacekeepers from Britain set to deploy there later this year. Read more