KABUL, 1 September 2005 — Afghan and US ground troops backed up by attack helicopters raided a Taleban camp in the mountains of southern Afghanistan, killing nine suspected militants, Afghan officials and the US military said yesterday. The camp in Uruzgan province had been used as a base by about 80 insurgents to launch guerrilla-style assaults on Afghan and US-led coalition forces in the area, said provincial Gov. Jan Mohammed Khan.
The rest of the rebels fled during Tuesday’s attack on the camp, which had been set up in several adjoining mountain caves, he said. American helicopters pounded the site with rockets before ground forces moved in. Several AK-47 assault rifles, rockets, as well as tents, kettles and other camping equipment were scattered around the area, the governor said. A US military statement said nine suspected militants were killed.
Separate fighting also broke out in Asadabad town, eastern Kunar province, when five suspected rebels tried to attack a joint patrol by Afghan troops and US Marines, the statement said. It said an assessment of the battle was ongoing and it wasn’t clear how many militants were killed. No Afghan or US troops were hurt in either battles, it said. US and local officials have said they fear the rebels are intent on subverting the polls and have warned that a major upsurge in violence in recent months may further worsen in the next few weeks.
A Taleban spokesman confirmed the latest fighting but, speaking by telephone from an undisclosed location, said 12 Afghan government troops and US soldiers had been killed. US forces killed a senior Taleban commander in Uruzgan province last week. The man, Payenda Mohammed, had been responsible for a spate of attacks, the US military said.
US and Afghan government forces have mounted a series of operations in the south and east in recent months to root out pockets of militants and ensure security for the Parliament elections. About 1,000 people have been killed in violence this year, most of them militants, but including 48 US soldiers.
Afghan and US officials say the insurgents will not be allowed to disrupt the vote. Election organizers are cautiously optimistic that polling in most areas will be smooth. About 20,000 US troops and 10,000 NATO peacekeepers are focusing on security for the election. Organizers of elections said they were confident enough observers would be on hand on to ensure thorough oversight of the process. Afghans are to elect a lower house of Parliament and councils in all 34 provinces nearly a year after President Hamid Karzai won a five-year term.
Security remains the prime concern, after a surge in violence by Taleban rebels who have denounced the election, but voters also have to be assured polling will be fair, election commission officials said. “The Afghan people need to know and see that every step of these elections is carried out honestly,” Mohammad Nazri, an official of the joint UN-Afghan election commission, told a briefing. “Every step of this process will be open to full scrutiny,” he said.
The commission, known as the Joint Electoral Management Body, has accredited about 2,200 independent observers and more than 30,000 political party and candidate agents, said the commission’s chief of operations, Richard Atwood.
