Up to 10 Taliban die in air raids

[maddezmom]

Source: AP

KABUL, Afghanistan - New air strikes in a volatile southern Afghan region killed up to 10 Taliban fighters near where villagers say about 40 civilians died in a battle earlier this week, and the U.S.-led coalition said yesterday that local Afghans feared more Taliban attacks.
Taliban fighters ambushed a patrol of coalition and Afghan forces near Sangin in Helmand province Thursday evening, and gunfire and air strikes killed 10 militants, said Eizatullah Khan, the Sangin district chief.

A coalition spokesman, Sgt. First Class Dean Welch, put the toll at six Taliban killed. Two villagers from Sangin said they knew of no civilian casualties in the fight.

Air strikes called in by U.S. forces fighting 200 Taliban north of Sangin on Tuesday killed 21 civilians, an Afghan government official said. Villagers said nearly 40 civilians were killed.



Read more: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/world_us/20070512_Up_to_10_Taliban_die_in_air_raids.html

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Coalition and Afghan forces battle Taliban militants in southern Afghanistan
(CNN) -- Coalition forces killed one Taliban militant and detained two others after a gunbattle at a compound in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province early Saturday, the U.S.-led coalition said in a statement.

The battle erupted as the forces advanced on a compound that "credible intelligence" linked to Taliban activity.

Troops were fired on by members inside the compound and returned fire, killing one. The other militants "surrendered and were not harmed," the statement said..

In a separate operation, coalition and Afghan National Police killed "a number of enemy fighters" in southern Afghanistan, the U.S.-led coalition said in a statement Saturday.

more:http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/05/12/saturday/index.html

[Systematic Chaos]

1. 10 "Taliban" to 40 civilians.

Anyone who doesn't have a serious problem with that doesn't qualify as human. But that's just my opinion, which when combined with $5.00 plus tax will get you one mofo of a latte. :eyes:

[3waygeek]

2. Note that "up to 10" includes zero n/t.

[DemSoccerMom]

3. How terrible of a person does it make me

that I honestly don't care that "up to 10 Taliban fighters" died? I've always considered myself a compassionate person, yet I cannot, for the life of me, begin to feel any remorse that Taliban fighters died. Of course, it's terrible that "about 40 civilians died." For some reason though, I just can't force myself to feel even a little sympathy for the Taliban fighters.

Does that make me a bad person? Or just a REALLY GOOD American?

[ShortnFiery]

4. Don't ya know that the steady reporting of enemy "body counts" helped win Vietnam?

:crazy:

[DemSoccerMom]

9. Nam was before my time.

I wasn't born until '77.

[Igel]

7. Other reports of the story contain news that might be

judged good--in a horrible way, of course.

The villagers that were bombed claimed to have tracked down the commander of the Taliban band that brought down bombs on the villagers heads. And to have killed him.

Apparently a neighboring village decided *not* to let in Taliban, since they didn't want their houses and families destroyed. When the Taliban got pissy, the villages killed the group leader.

The villagers have cause and effect worked out.

[pokercat999]

12. Unfortunately it makes you a regular american that

has no real idea of weather these guys are good or bad for THEIR country. We (you, me and 99.9% of all americans) only receive the information that our government wants us to have. Since they are at the present time killing these people as often as they can, my guess is they're not telling us everything. There must be some reason the Taliban are able to operate in their homeland......could it be that they are supported by the people?

I sincerely don't know.

[IronScorpio5]

5. More RW Garbage...

and we're supposed to believe this crap ?

[Catshrink]

6. Did they get #2 again?

[Eugene]

8. Roadside bomb kills eight Afghan police

Source: Reuters

Roadside bomb kills eight Afghan police
12 May 2007 16:02:33 GMT
Source: Reuters

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, May 12 (Reuters) - At least eight Afghan
police officers were killed on Saturday when a roadside bomb hit
their vehicle outside the southern city of Kandahar, the provincial
police chief said.

Several other police were wounded in the incident, the most recent
in a spate of increasing attacks by Taliban guerrillas, Esmatullah
Alizai said.

The surge in attacks follows widespread violence last year, the
worst since the militants were ousted in 2001.


Link: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP13587.htm

[uppityperson]

10. "Up to" is such a weasel term, can mean anything or nothing.

[DemSoccerMom]

11. As in, "Lose UP TO 750 pounds . . .

. . . by drinking the magic Kool-Aid." Yeah. Something like that.

OK. Here's my problem w/ this "journalism." I have a degree in journalism from a major university. I am an award-winning journalist and have had several articles picked up by the AP. So why is it that at age 30, *I* know not to use ambiguous terminology like "up to" when writing? Hmmm. Could it be that the journalist (and admittedly I haven't read the full article yet) is just a flame-thrower? Just my two cents.