Word: boldak
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...battle might never have happened if not for a gruesome stroke of luck. On Jan. 27, U.S. troops and their Afghan allies were conducting random checks outside the city of Spin Boldak, a smuggler's haven near the Pakistani border, when a motorcyclist and his passenger roared past a checkpoint. The Americans and Afghans gave chase down a potholed road stretching across a broad mesa dotted with camels. During the pursuit, the turbaned man on the back of the motorcycle reached under his shawl for a grenade but fumbled it, blowing off his own legs. His comrade, Abdul Ghani, surrendered...
...Since the Taliban fell, their forces along with al-Qaeda members have engaged in guerrilla actions aimed at harassing U.S. troops and local warlords aligned with the Kabul government. U.S. bases and patrols regularly come under fire; just last weekend 19 people were killed in the town of Spin Boldak after an ammunition depot used by a pro-Kabul warlord exploded under suspicious circumstances...
KANDAHAR Pashtun GUL AGHA SHERZAI commands a small fiefdom in the south. With 1,500 men, he controls trade with Pakistan through the border settlement Spin Boldak. Sherzai is a U.S. ally, but he maintains ties with nearby tribes, some of which are pro-Taliban...
...Reported by Massimo Calabresi and Mark Thompson/Washington, Anthony Davis and Terry McCarthy/Kabul, Tim McGirk/Spin Boldak and Alex Perry/Mazar-i-Sharif
...friends and commander were from the same village in Wardak province. He was worried of what would happen if Spin Boldak fell to the opposition forces: "Nobody around here is from our tribe. We cannot trust them. Somehow, our commander will have to lead us back home." He and his comrades were debating whether to take their weapons with them back to Wardak - and risk being detected as fleeing Taliban - or hide them in Spin Boldak and return for them later. Abadullah wanted to take his AK-47 and a few rocket-propelled grenades with him. "The journey home...