Taliban seize town of Musa Qala; residents fear NATO reaction is imminent

[Kirkhill]

More on the Yorkshire man killed...

Soldier killed in assault 'stayed to fight' Taliban
By Katie Franklin and agencies
Last Updated: 10:22am GMT 10/12/2007

Article Link

The British soldier killed during an assault on a Taliban stronghold in Afghanistan was meant to be on leave at the time, his fiancée has revealed.

Sergeant Lee Johnson, 33, of 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, was killed when an explosive device blew up beside his vehicle near Musa Qala in Helmand province.

Another soldier was seriously injured in the blast, which was suspected to have been caused by a mine.

Sgt Johnson's commanding officer paid tribute to the soldier, describing him as a "gem".

"A huge personality and a supreme soldier, he had a zest for life that took all before him," said Lieutenant Colonel Simon Downey. .....

More on Link

According the Globe and Mail it's already becoming a Quagmire

  Somebody's not "truthin'" Colin.

 

[Kirkhill]

The Times seems to be more of a mind with the Telegraph than the G&M
And the concluding paragraphs are relevant to the discussion about the role of the 3Ds in winning Afghanistan

From Times Online
December 10, 2007

Gordon Brown visits Afghanistan as Taleban stronghold falls
Sam Coates at Camp Bastion and Nick Meo in Lashkar Gahi

Article Link

Gordon Brown paid a surprise pre-Christmas visit to British troops in Afghanistan's Helmand province today as the operation to retake the opium-trading bazaar town of Musa Qala reached its climax.

The Prime Minister arrived shortly after 7am at Camp Bastion, the main British base in Helmland around 60 miles from Musa Qala - the frontline where approximately 3,000 British troops were today close to capturing the only sizeable town controlled by Taleban insurgents, and where Afghan troops made a reported breakthrough this morning.
.....

"I want to give President Karzai my assurance that our support will continue over these next few years to make it possible not only for the security of the Afghan people but also the economic and social development of your country so that people can have a stake in the future."

The Prime Minister said that he would announce further details of Britain’s support for Afghanistan in a statement to the House of Commons, following his return to the UK.

Discussing the operation in Musa Qala, Mr Brown pledged: "When action is finally achieved against the Taleban and they are excluded from this area, we will be ready to support the economic and social development of the communities with projects and support for the local government in the area.

"That will be something we hope to be able to start immediately the success of this operation is achieved."



More on link

 

[zipperhead_cop]

Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, a spokesman for the Taliban, confirmed the group's forces had left but added the decision to depart was made to protect civilians in the town after Nato bombing raids.

How very thoughtful of them.  "We'll cut it short now, because we don't want NATO killing innocents.  Killing innocents is our job, and they have no right"  :
Printing quotes from the Taliban is like reading your local newspaper letters to the edittor.  Generally useless and void of fact. 

But did RAIN actually allow these clods to slip through the cordon?  Surely 2485 soldiers leaving an area would draw some sort of attention?

 

[Kirkhill]

Really good question ZC but some of the numbers of Taliban were as low as 300 in a town of something like 15-20,000.  Also, I can't help but wonder if part of the effort was a smoke-screen to allow the two HVTs that were reported captured the opportunity to defect. 

Some of the reports allude to indications that there was some hope of defections from the Taliban and that was part of the reason for mounting the operation now.

 

[zipperhead_cop]

Roj.  That makes more sense than "It was rainin' real hard"

 

[tomahawk6]

11 tons of opium have been seized in Musa Qala. That will put a crimp in Taliban finances.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/12/exclusive-11-to.html

 

[a_majoor]

According the Globe and Mail it's already becoming a Quagmire  :

Strange sort of quagmire where we go farther and farther and operate in more and more districts. At this rate we might be able to have a province wide quagmire by the end of 2009.......

 

[Kirkhill]

Coghlan and the Telegraph

No peace for Marines on Christmas patrol
Tom Coghlan in Helmand
Last Updated: 1:51am GMT 26/12/2007



Weighed down with weapons and equipment, lines of men moved across the Helmand landscape with wary caution.

As Christmas morning dawned in Afghanistan there was little sign of the message of peace it symbolises. Delta Company of 40 Commando, The Royal Marines, were walking towards a Taliban ambush.

The Commandos felt the impending attack long before it actually came. Around them were tell-tale signs that they were being watched.

As the Marines pushed northwards out of a drab village a sudden burst of gunfire cracked the air, followed by a second of silence then a rising crescendo of incoming fire as the Marines scrambled for cover.

It was 10am local time, and in England people were still asleep.

From three points, in an arc across their front, drifting puffs of smoke betrayed the firing points of the Taliban fighters, the nearest 100 yards away.

Above the chaotic hail of gunfire, a deeper thump was followed by a whistle as a rocket-propelled ­grenade passed overhead to explode somewhere behind their position with a jarring concussion.

More followed, one bursting with an ugly burst of black smoke just in front of a group of Marines.

From irrigation ditches and buildings the Marines fired back, rising to their feet to fire quick bursts before dropping down again.

As the first onslaught of gunfire slackened, the Company Commander, Major Tony Chattin, 38, talked rapidly on the radio with the young troop commander leading the forward element of the patrol.

2nd Lieutenant Dan Eaton, 24, from Surrey, just two weeks out of training, was not merely commanding his first battle, he was also under fire for the first time in his life.

Other radios crackled into life. Bombardier Ian Gilby, a Liver­pudlian from the 4th Regiment Royal Artillery, shouted co-ordinates as artillery at the nearby British base were put on standby. At another base mortars were readied......

A 2-week subby and "corporal" (apologies to the Gunner Bombardiers out there)


And from the Independent:

Santa hats and sniper fire: Christmas in Afghanistan is (almost) just another day
By Jerome Starkey in Kajaki, Afghanistan
Published: 26 December 2007

The deafening crack of a Royal Marine's sniper rifle marked the start of business as usual in Afghanistan yesterday. "Merry Christmas" quipped a commando, as a second shot tore through the freezing morning air.

The fighting men of 40 Commando were already on patrol as the clocks struck Christmas in Britain. They left their base at 4.30am – midnight in the UK – to probe the Taliban's lines just a few hundred metres from their camp, and it was only a matter of time before the insurgents attacked.......

Meanwhile off duty (Courtesy BBC):

Hirsute marines compete for glory 
By Caroline Wyatt
Defence correspondent, BBC News 

The Royal Marines have found a novel way to keep a stiff upper lip while fighting the Taleban in Helmand Province this Christmas - by holding a "moustache contest".

The marines of 40 Commando are vying to see who can grow the most outrageous piece of face furniture in a competition that will be judged by a panel of their peers on Boxing Day.

The conditions the men are living in may be basic in the extreme, and the fierce battles they find themselves in often hair-raising, but judging by some of the photos sent in by Royal Marine competitors, the men themselves are hairier.

 
In pictures: The entrants

What the Duke of Wellington once said of his own troops is clearly still true today: "I don't know what they do to the enemy, but by God, they frighten me."

Second in Command of 40 Commando, Major Alex Murray, terms the competition a "morale-boosting bit of fun".

"Generations of our forefathers have been marching around these hills with the most splendid array of facial hair," he says. "We found throughout history, the upper lip has been stiffened with a good moustache.

"Some aspects of warfare are timeless, and in this case the requirement for impressive facial hair is as important today as it was for our forefathers working on the North West Frontier....

Photos via link.