Diggers vs. Taliban
Diggers win, neutralizing positions that were causing them trouble:
The failed attack was one of a number of decisive defeats suffered by the Taliban in Oruzgan Province and the neighbouring Helmand Province during the past week. The attack came as the RTF was conducting a reconnaissance mission for the construction of Afghan National Police outposts about eight kilometres north of Tarin Kowt.
Taliban extremists fired automatic weapons and Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs) at the Australian patrol from the cover of an orchard. The patrol immediately returned fire and then engaged in an intense confrontation with the Taliban during the next four hours.
Infantry Platoon Commander Lieutenant Glenn Neilson said the Taliban had established strong firing positions and were reinforced with more fighters as the attack progressed.
“We were engaged with some very accurate fire from a range of about 300m and there were a lot of bullets coming our way. Making use of all the weapons at our disposal, including the Australian Light Armoured Vehicle (ASLAV) and Bushmaster Infantry Mobility Vehicle (IMV), we held our ground.”
The soldiers were also able to employ Dutch F16 fighter aircraft and Apache helicopters. Afghan National Army troops that were trained by Australian Forces in Oruzgan participated in the patrol and performed admirably.
“Together we neutralised the positions that were causing us trouble,” Lieutenant Neilson said.
The great thing about the Taliban is that, inexplicably, the indigenous guerrilla force that drove out the Russians through hit-and-run tactics, trapping convoys in remote mountain valleys and killing, is increasingly engaging in frontal assaults, and when it does hit, often is deprived of an opportunity to run. Here’s a report from earlier this week on a couple of Taliban-initiated attacks vs. coalition. Score 165-1, NATO. This regular pattern often is underplayed in reporting on Afghanistan, which tends to focus on Taliban crowing about its great offensive and incidents of civilians killed by airstrikes … usually burying the fact that the Taliban firing and seeking refuge amid civilians is the exclusive cause of those problems.
Welcome Blackfivers. So good to see you. Come on in. Before there was Chimpy McHitlerburton, there was the evil FDR Administration. Someone tell MoveOn! Speaking of Pinheads. Meanwhile, in fatwa news. Concerned about stability? Hey, stick this up your nose: no, not the monkey urine. In other primate news, chimp breakout ends badly.
Topics: Afghanistan
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 9:17 am on Saturday, September 29, 2007
6 Responses to “Diggers vs. Taliban”
Leave a Reply
Trackback URLYou must be logged in to post a comment.
September 29th, 2007 at 5:28 pm
Go, Diggers!
Does anyone else think the reason for increased hopeless frontal assaults might be that the Taliban know they’re losing so they’re going for the virgins now?
September 29th, 2007 at 10:00 pm
Good question RebeccaH. But I suspect more a local ‘leader’ who felt he had the perfect conditions for an effective ambush. He may have also have taken too close to heart the ‘weak horse’ theory of OBL. The first rule of ambush on the receiving end is, to charge toward the heaviest fire. Sounds as if the Diggers have trained for that. As for virgins, that is all that is on their mind isn’t it, losing or winning has nothing to do with it. Actually if they win they loose. Ha.
September 30th, 2007 at 8:57 am
In all fairness, we must remember that their war manual was written by Mohammad a very long time ago. It’s a bitch when you are forbidden to change that which is touted as the last word. You’d think Allah would have made provisions.
September 30th, 2007 at 11:24 pm
“inexplicably, the indigenous guerrilla force that drove out the Russians through hit-and-run tactics, trapping convoys in remote mountain valleys and killing, is increasingly engaging in frontal assaults, and when it does hit, often is deprived of an opportunity to run.”
I don’t think we are fighting the same forces that drove out the Russians. I suspect most of the Taliban fighting us now are dimbulbs from Pakistan, where the Taliban originated after all. Their klotziness comes from being very poorly trained and commanded by the dregs of the jihad. I think that the Afghans who kicked Russian keister are mostly on our side. After all, they did not fight the Russkies so long so that they could be beheaded in the Kabul soccer stadium for the “crime” of listening to music.
October 6th, 2007 at 5:03 pm
Diggers Vs. Taliban
Jules Crittenden has a nice story about our Aussie allies, the Diggers, in Afghanistan. He sums up an article about the latest clash:…The great thing about the Taliban is that, inexplicably, the indigenous guerrilla force that drove out the Russians
October 11th, 2007 at 4:29 pm
[...] a video clip of the Australian Defence Force bringing the fight to the Taliban and now courtesy of Jules Crittenden comes more news of the ADF in action in [...]