US helicopter 'downed by Taleban' (no one seriously injured)

[maddezmom]

Source: BBC

US helicopter 'downed by Taleban'

A US military helicopter has made an emergency landing in Afghanistan amid reports that militants shot it down.

No one was seriously injured in the "hard landing" in the north-eastern province of Nuristan on Monday night, coalition forces said.

The Taleban say they shot the helicopter down.

Separately, the coalition says troops killed 12 Taleban fighters in southern Helmand province, an opium production centre and insurgent stronghold.




Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7397868.stm

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150 rebels killed in Afghan operation: governor

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) - International and Afghan troops forged ahead with an offensive against the Taliban near the Pakistan border on Tuesday, with a governor insisting 150 rebels had been killed in the past week.

US Marines and British troops under NATO command launched a significant new operation two weeks ago in Garmser district in southern Helmand province, a key battleground for a Taliban-led insurgency and an opium-producing centre.

Soldiers in a separate US-led coalition have also reported several engagements in the area in the past week. They said Tuesday they had killed a dozen rebels in Garmser on Monday.

The international forces helping Afghanistan fight an insurgency led by the Al-Qaeda-backed Taliban normally do not issue death tolls from their engagements, saying they want to avoid a "body count."

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080513/wl_afp/afghanistanunrest_080513143555;_ylt=AnMVBlXqGUxCtZrgCVrfWs.QOrgF

Afghanistan says thousands flee fearing NATO strikes

KABUL (AFP) — Up to 6,000 people have fled their homes in a southern Afghanistan district fearing NATO strikes amid a large-scale operation against Taliban militants, an official said Monday.

The mass exodus from Garmser, a remote district in troubled Helmand province, comes as NATO-led troops hunt Taliban militants and their allies in an operation that kicked off two weeks ago.

"Around 900 families, counting for about 5,000 to 6,000 people, have left the area," refugees ministry spokesman Shamsuddin Sarhadi told AFP.

The displaced families were being put up in a government-run camp in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand which is 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the district centre Garmser, he said.

more:http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5ggkTjBJ46N7-JGmQ7x1GAyYxMhmA

[unhappycamper]

1. And in other news today, the Army lost (or misplaced) 2 Humvees in Afghanistan.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=259x14687

This occupation isn't going well, either.

[Tempest]

2. Makes you wonder if the helicopter was shot down with U.S. weapons

Weapons we gave the Taliban in their fight against Russia.

[BrotherBuzz]

3. All they need is an electrical engineer with some mail order batteries...

and those relics are good to go.

[Tempest]

4. LOL! You just made me think of the Iron Man movie

Where Stark created a device to keep the shrapnel from his heart and the suit from spare parts.

[hack89]

7. Little more complex than that

missiles are sensitive things - they require regular depot level maintenance. The propellant in particular degrades over time while the electronics are sensitive to heat and moisture over extended periods. 20 year old stingers are not going to work.

[Psephos]

8. No, they used leftover explosives from when they blew up the 1000 y/o Buddha statues n/t

[ohio2007]

5. Taliban ban TV in Afghan province

KABUL (Reuters) - Taliban insurgents have ordered residents of a province near the capital Kabul to stop watching television, saying the networks were showing un-Islamic programs, officials and local media said on Tuesday.

The order is the last in a wave of curbs that the resurgent militants have announced in areas they are active.

A senior Afghan information ministry official, Najib Manelai, said that dozens of masked men with weapons entered mosques in Logar province at the weekend and threatened residents against watching television

"They threatened the people that 'if you do not give up watching televisions, you will face violence',"...

snip
But while in power from 1996 until their ouster, the Taliban Islamists had banned television, music and cinema.
More than a dozen private TV networks and scores of radio stations have been launched in Afghanistan since their fall.

snip

http://www.reuters.com/article/televisionNews/idUSISL32262220080513


Didn't the cave dwellers warn these loyal worshippers to stop using cell phones ?

They need to give up fast food,electricity.
In time, they will be asked to give up free thought,
fire,food and shelter.

Freedom of repression wants to make a comeback. NATO seems to be a thorn in their dark age dream come true.


They don't like anything that's modern besides
Ak47's, RPG's,...

[ohio2007]

6. Rocket 'bounced off' army officer

An Army officer from the Highlands survived an attack in Afghanistan when a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) bounced off his chest before exploding.

Lt David Robertson, 30, of 4 SCOTS Royal Regiment of Scotland, escaped with minor injuries.

The missile ricocheted off his body armour and detonated against his Warrior armoured vehicle.

snip




http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/highlands_and_islands/7397831.stm



Brit must be Iron Man