HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK ---------------------------
Scotland On Sunday Sun 14 Apr 2002 The total deployment will number 1700, the single largest group of UK forces in action since the Gulf War. Marines face Afghan backlash ASKOLD KRUSHELNYCKY IN KABUL AS THE Royal Marines look set to begin their operations in Afghanistan this week against al-Qaeda and Taliban forces, there are ominous signs that armed factions are preparing to challenge the pro-Western Afghan government. On Friday night British peacekeeping forces in western Kabul were attacked by 30 gunmen who opened fire with machine-guns. The British returned fire, drove off their attackers and captured seven of the gunmen, who were handed over to Afghan authorities. Nobody was injured. Six of the detained men turned out to be members of the Afghan police service and the seventh was a serving member of newly-constituted Afghan army. Five were in police uniform and one in combats when captured. Afghan government officials said the men were all ethnic Hazaras, a minority Shi'ite group who largely populate western Kabul. An investigation is under way. Earlier on Friday the Afghan interim government said there had been fierce fighting involving forces loyal to an Islamic fundamentalist warlord who has been urging Afghans to begin a holy war or Jihad against Western troops in the country. Delays mean not all the 1700 Royal Marines from 45 Commando, based in Arbroath, have arrived yet at the Bagram air base, north of Kabul, which is headquarters to the US-led coalition troops in the country. The spokesman for the marines, Lieutenant Colonel Paul Harradine, would not say how many have already arrived but said part of the force will be ready for operations from the middle of this month. The operations are aimed at locating and destroying small groups of al-Qaeda forces and remnants of the Islamic extremist Afghan Taliban regime overthrown by coalition action last November. American sources say most of the Taliban forces, who are Afghans, have probably blended into the general population and may have abandoned the idea of continuing resistance. But it has been more difficult for the al-Qaeda fighters, most of them Arabs, to leave the region. Around 1000 are thought to remain in Afghanistan while others are believed to be hiding across the border in Pakistan and regrouping for guerrilla hit-and-run raids. An Afghan government intelligence officer, working alongside the coalition forces, said his men have been monitoring scores of radio transmissions from al-Qaeda fighters across the border in Pakistan, indicating they are operating as small detachments. The marines at Bagram have been checking their equipment, practice-firing their weapons and preparing for high-altitude combat missions. The marines will rely on giant American double-rotor Chinook helicopters, which carry 43 passengers, to transport them to the combat zone. They will be backed up by US Apache combat helicopters and will also be able to call in air strikes by American B-52 bombers and Royal Airforce aircraft. Their missions will consist of trying to locate al-Qaeda fighters, encircling and destroying them and also searching for and destroying scores of enemy hideouts in caves and bunkers. As well as eliminating enemy weapons and ammunition stores in the hideouts, they hope to find documents that will shed light on al-Qaeda's past operations, future intentions and the whereabouts of its key leaders, including Osama bin Laden. The forthcoming operations by the Royal Marines have given rise to fears that anti-Western forces will seek reprisals against the 1500 British soldiers that form the biggest component of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) peacekeepers in Kabul. While the marines are in the heavily fortified Bagram base, the peacekeepers deliberately mount highly visible patrols meant to instill confidence in the local population in and around Kabul. ISAF spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Neal Peckham said the peacekeepers had tried to inform Afghans they were separate from the combat troops. An officer from the Royal Anglian Regiment, the lead force in ISAF said: "As peacekeepers we are exposed, we are a soft target if you like. But that's the nature of the job. We are taking as many security precautions as possible but there's never a guarantee." Last week two missiles were fired at an ISAF base in Kabul. Afghan authorities say they are interrogating nine people suspected of involvement. The rocket attack was the most serious action against ISAF and appeared to mark the end of weeks of relative stability in Kabul and in most parts of the country. Just prior to the attack the Afghan government said it had arrested hundreds of men they said are loyal to an anti-Western warlord, Gulbudin Hekmatyar. At the beginning of last week there was an attempt to kill the Afghan defence minister, Mohamed Fahim, when he visited Jalalabad. Four onlookers died and 18 were injured when a bomb exploded close to Fahim's convoy of vehicles. No one has claimed responsibility. Last Thursday the government announced it had seized a large number of weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades they said were destined for Hekmatyar's forces. On Friday fierce fighting broke out between Hekmatyar's fighters and a rival group west of Kabul. The government said at least six people died in the fighting. A spokesman for the Afghan defence ministry, Mirjan said: "The people responsible for these incidents are against the peace process and implementation of stability here." He said the incidents aimed to disrupt preparations for a traditional Afghan conference of politicians, tribal and religious leaders and representatives of different ethnic groups that is scheduled for June and which the international community as well as the Afghan government hope will pave the way for democratic elections and a stable future. ��http://www.news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=398552002 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - online filing with TurboTax http://taxes.yahoo.com/ --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
