top
Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Indybay
Indybay
Indybay
Regions
Indybay Regions North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area California United States International Americas Haiti Iraq Palestine Afghanistan
Topics
Newswire
Features
From the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature

Afghanistan gripped by worst fighting since 2001

by UK Independent (reposted)
Two French special forces troops and a US soldier were among 34 combatants killed in Afghanistan in a fresh upsurge of the deadliest fighting since the removal of the Taliban in 2001. In the worst clash, militants hiding in a vineyard ambushed an Afghan army convoy, shooting dead four soldiers but losing 15 of their own.
Fears of a resurgence of the Taliban have been fuelled by a sharp rise in violence during recent weeks, much of it in Helmand province, where 3,300 British troops are deploying. Some 120 people died in 24 hours last week before a brief respite, but attacks resumed on Friday, claiming another 34 lives by Saturday afternoon.

The two French died yesterday while fighting the Taliban in Kandahar province, the French Defence Ministry said. It gave no further details. France has had 200 special forces officers in south-eastern Afghanistan since 2003 as part of the US-led coalition.

The American soldier was killed and six others wounded on Friday in Uruzgan province, also in the south, when a joint patrol with Afghan forces encountered enemy fighters. Uruzgan had seen some of the heaviest fighting within the past year, but militants suffered high losses in battles with coalition forces.

Helmand, the main opium poppy-growing region, where drug profits are believed to fund the insurgency, has become the main focus of violence, but the past week has also seen attacks in Zabul province and the western city of Herat.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article549507.ece
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!

Donate

$110.00 donated
in the past month

Get Involved

If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.

Publish

Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.

IMC Network