Hundreds of Taliban massing to attack dam: official

[deadparrot]

SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan (Reuters) - At least 700 Taliban fighters have crossed from Pakistan into Afghanistan to reinforce guerrillas attacking a key dam, a major source of electricity and irrigation, a provincial governor said on Monday.

"We have got confirmed reports that they are Pakistani, Uzbek and Chechen nationals and have sneaked in," Helmand Governor Asadullah Wafa told Reuters by telephone.

The Kajaki dam has seen major fighting in recent weeks between the Taliban and NATO forces, mainly British and Dutch.

NATO-led troops have been conducting operations in the area for several months to allow reconstruction on the dam and the power transmission lines to boost output, after fighting halted refurbishment last year.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070212/ts_nm/afghan_dc

[acmavm]

1. Afganistan? Afganistan? Now where have I heard the name

before? It seems like we have some connection to some problems in Afganistan but like the bush** admin I must have forgotten all about it.

:sarcasm:

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

2. Damn! (Sorry)

[Earth_First]

3. Even if this was the case...

that Taliban soldiers were massing in order to carry out a massive operation... (...sorry I've just grown incredibly cynical of any media reporting as of late) ...why do I get the sneaking suspicion that "hundreds" of Taliban soldiers en mass will be allowed to disperse accordingly afterwords; and the Pentagon will use the typical channels of dissemination to inform the weary masses that a number two al-Qa eda terrorist was confirmed shot/injured/killed/captured and the attempts to arrest/detain/suspend operations were futile with many of the fighters were allowed to retreat into the same hills which they had massed to carry out the 'spectacular' attack.

[Eugene]

4. AFP: NATO forces kill 22 Taliban in southern Afghanistan

NATO forces kill 22 Taliban in southern Afghanistan

36 minutes ago

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) - NATO and Afghan forces killed 22 Taliban rebels in
southern Afghanistan during battles near a beseiged dam and a remote town that was
captured by the militants, officials said.

Up to 15 militants were killed on Monday when British troops backed by helicopters and
Afghan forces tried to clear rebel strongholds around the hydroelectric dam in Kajaki
district of Helmand province, police said.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said it called in close air
support against militants in the same area again Tuesday in a "successful precision air
strike." It did not say how many rebels were killed.

Another seven militants were killed Tuesday near Musa Qala, a town in Helmand that was
overrun by the Taliban two weeks ago, provincial police chief Mohammad Nabi Mullahkhil
said.

-snip-

Full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070213/wl_asia_afp/afghanistannatounrest_070213180645

[ohio2007]

5. well, so much for loose lips...there will be no dam bombing or dam fishing

Maybe nobody will be on the dam watch so the dam guards won't notice a dam thing.