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Mix-Ansicht- Ich dachte die Amis haetten einen grossen Sieg gefeiert? - XERXES, 04.03.2002, 14:46
Ich dachte die Amis haetten einen grossen Sieg gefeiert?
More U.S. deaths reported in Afghanistan
March 4, 2002 Posted: 8:37 AM EST (1337 GMT)
American planes pounded the Shahi Kot mountain range again on Sunday.
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KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A U.S. helicopter was brought down by enemy fire Monday in eastern Afghanistan, causing multiple fatalities, U.S. military sources said. The circumstances of the attack were unknown
Al Qaeda and Taliban forces were under constant bombardment by U.S., allied and Afghan forces for a third straight day in the remote and inhospitable terrain of the Shahi Kot mountains in eastern Afghanistan, U.S. military and Afghan Defense Ministry officials said.
"Aircraft have targeted vehicles, mortars, enemy troop locations, caves and anti-aircraft artillery sites. Firefights continue to be intense at times in heavy combat actions," U.S. Central Command said."The size of the enemy force is estimated to be several hundred."
The region is under constant bombardment by B-52s and jet fighters.
Officials had no estimate of the number of allied forces in the area, where narrow gorges make attack from the ground difficult, though Afghan, coalition and U.S. ground forces continued their operations there.
Also Monday, U.S. forces faced small arms fire in Khost. The forces called in air support and the small arms fire ceased, said a Central Command spokesman.
In weekend fighting, one U.S. Army soldier and four Afghan fighters died. In addition, dozens of U.S., coalition and Afghan fighters were wounded, authorities said Monday. None of the U.S. wounds was life-threatening, authorities said.
The surge in fighting underscores the fact that, though reports of fighting have diminished in recent weeks, the war is by no means over.
A Central Comman spokesman called the joint campaign with Afghan forces the largest offensive in Afghanistan this year. Coalition countries participating in the operation include Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany and Norway.
Fighting intensified in the air as U.S. bombers dropped more than 270 precision-guided and gravity bombs, and directed AC-130 gunships at al Qaeda and Taliban forces south of Gardez, said Central Command. Weather conditions aided the coalition's air war over the weekend.
"The weather is cold but clear [Sunday], so there will be no restrictions on aircraft flying in the area, and there is a lot of snow on the ground for the soldiers to slog through," Central Command's Rear Adm. Craig Quigley said.
The targets include"enemy forces occupying a series of caves complexes" in Paktia province, U.S. Army Maj. A.C. Roper said. Gardez is the provincial capital.
Some AH-64 Apache helicopters were damaged by enemy fire, Central Command added.
The United States has maintained a base in Gardez for two months, recruiting and training Afghan fighters, sources told CNN.
U.S. military officials said Saturday that a thermobaric bomb was dropped on a cave in the region, but they would not identify the target.
Thermobaric warheads are designed to destroy targets hidden in caves, with"fuel-rich" warheads that can fill tunnels with fireballs.
The operation began Friday night with U.S. B-52 airstrikes at Shahi Kot aimed at al Qaeda and Taliban holdouts, Afghan and U.S. officials said.
Officials said the bombing was followed early Saturday by 500 to 600 Afghan soldiers on the ground and U.S. troops from the 101st Airborne Division, based at the Kandahar airport in southern Afghanistan.
Fighting Sunday morning was also reported in Lowgar, about 50 miles south of Kabul. The Afghanistan Intelligence Ministry said about 500 al Qaeda and Taliban forces were beaten back by forces loyal to the interim administration, supported by U.S. airstrikes.
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