Some good news for a generally crap day - some 18 Taliban were killed by Afghan anti-narcotic security forces and Afghan army troops when the Taliban tried to stop some poppy destroying maneuvers. Here's the details from the report over at Xinhua:
Now, I'm not trying to tell the Afghans how to run things there but man, to try and start destroying poppy fields in Helmand province...well, that almost like going to an Obama rally and yelling out a racial slur. I mean, Helmand is one of the most dangerous spots on Earth just to try and walk or drive through, let alone try to do something that is REALLY gonna piss the Taliban off. But hey, if they've got the troops and police to give it a whirl, go for it.
At the same time, this is one of those situations that is typical of the Taliban...they try to snipe a few shots into an operation like this and then turn tail and run but they almost almost get boxed in and destroyed. If you look at most of the conflicts in Afghanistan, the Taliban nearly always suffer huge casualties compared to the Afghan troops or NATO troops. Unfortunately, the Taliban have what seems to be an endless supply of jihadists.
Taliban militants fighting Afghan government raided Counter-Narcotic Police in the poppy growing Helmand province in south Afghanistan and police encountered, leaving 20 people including 18 insurgents killed, spokesman for provincial administration Daud Ahmadi said Wednesday.
"Personnel of Counter-Narcotic Police with the support of soldiers from national army were busy in destroying poppy fields in Nadalid district Tuesday when a group of militants opened fire and the troops responded during which 18 rebels and two Afghan soldiers were killed," Ahmadi told Xinhua.
Now, I'm not trying to tell the Afghans how to run things there but man, to try and start destroying poppy fields in Helmand province...well, that almost like going to an Obama rally and yelling out a racial slur. I mean, Helmand is one of the most dangerous spots on Earth just to try and walk or drive through, let alone try to do something that is REALLY gonna piss the Taliban off. But hey, if they've got the troops and police to give it a whirl, go for it.
At the same time, this is one of those situations that is typical of the Taliban...they try to snipe a few shots into an operation like this and then turn tail and run but they almost almost get boxed in and destroyed. If you look at most of the conflicts in Afghanistan, the Taliban nearly always suffer huge casualties compared to the Afghan troops or NATO troops. Unfortunately, the Taliban have what seems to be an endless supply of jihadists.
Clash between Taliban and Afghan Counter-Narcotic Police leaves 20 dead
KABUL, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Taliban militants fighting Afghan government raided Counter-Narcotic Police in the poppy growing Helmand province in south Afghanistan and police encountered, leaving 20 people including 18 insurgents killed, spokesman for provincial administration Daud Ahmadi said Wednesday.
"Personnel of Counter-Narcotic Police with the support of soldiers from national army were busy in destroying poppy fields in Nadalid district Tuesday when a group of militants opened fire and the troops responded during which 18 rebels and two Afghan soldiers were killed," Ahmadi told Xinhua.
He also added that two foreign nationals who served as advisors were injured in the firefight, but their nationalities could not be identified.
Afghan government launched anti-narcotic campaign in Helmand province early weekend and so far hundreds of hectares of poppy-fields, according to officials, have been destroyed.
3 comments:
So y'all know I'm a Liberal (a gun totin' property rights Liberal but a Liberal no less) but I HATE the Taliban (all fundamentalists really). In the 1990s the Taliban eradicated the poppy crop from the areas they controlled. The poppys and the hash funded the Northern Alliance freedom fighters in their fight against the Taliban. Both the Taliban and the Northern Alliance fighters fell asleep bombed on hash every night but thats another story, and a VERY different drug. I like the fact that these assholes are reduced to depending on the opium crop for funding after all those years preaching against it and killing anyone caught growing it. Fuck um.
I expect to hear that Pakistan will pay the Taliban for the soldiers lost in this current battle against Afghanistan. It seems to be the way Pakistan is dealing with terrorism...
Shane,
I wouldn't put anything past the Pakistanis at this point.
:Holger Danske
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