Word: uruzgan
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...Australian special forces, on the other hand, have been accused of fighting too aggressively. Few question their effectiveness at disrupting the enemy and tracking and killing "high-value targets." The previous Taliban boss of Uruzgan, Qari Faizullah Mohammed, was sitting under an almond tree at Tora Chena, about 8 km from Tarin Kowt, when "somehow the Australians managed to target his seat under the tree and dropped a bomb on it," says elder Obeidullah. "They killed 33 Taliban that day." After tracking Taliban leader Mullah Pi Mohammed into the mountains near Deh Roshan, Australian troops killed him and most...
...Crossfire casualties Successful as the Australians have been, "with Australian special forces, sometimes civilians are getting killed," says General Mohammed Sabir, commander of the Afghan Army brigade in Uruzgan. An Australian Defence spokesman refused to comment on incidents, operations or tactics, but said Australian troops take all reasonable steps to avoid endangering the lives of non-combatants. "It should be noted," the spokesman added, "that Taliban tactics routinely use human shields, intimidation and stand-over techniques which put the lives of civilians at risk." The ISAF pays compensation to the families of killed civilians; about $1,200 was paid...
...stringent ISAF rules of engagement are sometimes given different emphases by the Dutch and the Australians. In October, the Dutch tipped off Uruzgan's new governor, Assadullah Hamdam, that a major operation, Spin Ghar, was about to be conducted in the Baluchi Valley, 16 km north of Tarin Kowt. They dropped leaflets and broadcast messages telling villagers how to protect themselves during the operation, which involved Australian, Dutch, Afghan and British forces. Rietdijk says Spin Ghar uncovered many weapons caches without a single civilian casualty. But Australian SAS sergeant Matthew Locke was shot dead on a reconnaissance mission, and Dutch...
...ISAF and the U.N. Assistance Mission agree that the Taliban have little natural support among the people. But they do have money from the opium trade - worth around $600 million a year in Uruzgan alone. And they have growing help from foreigners - Muslims from Pakistan, Chechnya, and Uzbekistan. "In the beginning it was just a lot of local fighters who were forced or paid to fight," says Groen. "They would fire the odd round to show they were participating." But these days the ISAF faces "a different Taliban that is obviously better trained, better coordinated and more proficient with their...
...major source of fighters and funds, and name a former colonel of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency as a key figure behind the Taliban resurgence. Known as "Colonel Imam," he helped develop the Taliban in the 1990s, and the officials say he has been regularly sighted in Uruzgan. General Sabir says the Colonel made a lightning visit in October, urging the Taliban to keep up attacks through the winter and giving them "money for weapons, motorcycles, trucks - whatever they need." Contacted by phone in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Colonel Imam laughs at such suggestions. "I have no contact with the [Taliban] people...