- MOSCOW (PNS) - According
to the claims of Russian news agency IANS, the US army suffered heavy losses
in Afghanistan during its offensive against Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters
in Shahi-Kot valley on Thursday night, a media report said. "Nearly
100 US Special Forces personnel were killed and about 200 injured and four
Apache helicopter gunships were destroyed in the offensive at Paktia province
in eastern Afghanistan,"Russian online newspaper Strana.Ru reported
quoting well-informed sources in the Kremlin, the seat of the Russian government
here, reports Indian Abroad News Service (IANS).
-
- US forces along with Afghan troops launched the offensive
after coming under massive missile attack by Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters
Wednesday, the paper said. During an operation in Shahi-Kot valley two
weeks ago, US troops had combed nearly 50 caves but did not find any Taliban
or Al-Qaeda fighters except bundles of Islamic literature, maps and operation
plans.
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- Local commander Zalaludin Hakkani is leading the Taliban
and Al-Qaeda resistance with the help of a large number of Chechen and
Arab fighters, the paper said. Hakkani has adopted a new tactic to fight
the US troops: he keeps his men in small groups dispersed among the local
population and changes their location frequently. He has also promised
a reward of $100,000 to the local people for catching a US soldier, the
paper said.
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- Hakkani, who became famous for starting the resistance
movement against Soviet troops in the early 1980s, is believed to have
wide support among the local people, particularly the Pushtuns, the paper
said. Well-acquainted with the geography of the region and a master of
the guerrilla warfare, Hakkani is likely to turn out a formidable adversary
to the US forces for a long time, according to Afghan experts here.
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- http://paknews.com/flash.php?id=1&date1=2002-04-07
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