World>Terrorism & Security
posted June 22, 2005, updated 12:40 p.m.

'Forgotten' Afghan war heats up

Fierce firefights between US-led troops and Taliban-led militants kill scores one day after Afghan, Pakistani officials smooth over differences.

By Matthew Clark | csmonitor.com

Since being eclipsed in resources and attention by the Iraq war, Afghanistan has repeatedly been called America's " forgotten war."

But a recent spate of attacks by Taliban-led militants – including a deadly firefight Wednesday that left about 40 insurgents and a policeman dead and five US soldiers wounded – may jog a few memories.


06/21/05 Goss's 'excellent' idea 06/20/05 Document: US wants climate statement 'watered down' 06/17/05 Is 'Downing Street Memo' a smoking gun?

Sign up to be notified daily: Find out more.

The US military said in a statement that the firefight broke out in the Deh Chopan district of Zabul province after Afghan and coalition units were attacked with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades, reports AFX News. Two American CH-47 helicopters were damaged during 11 hours of fighting Tuesday at a rebel "safe haven," the military statement said.

General Salim Khan, commander of about 400 Afghan policemen who also took part in the fighting, said some 30 militants were captured, reports Britain's Press Association. "Three months of bloodshed across the south and east has left hundreds dead and sparked fears that the Afghan war is widening, rather than winding down," according to PA.

"Afghanistan has seen a rapid upswing in violence blamed on the ousted Taliban regime, with more than 100 people killed in a wave of attacks in southern and southeastern Afghanistan in the past week alone," reports AFX.

But Mr. Khan suggests that recent military operations have been successful.

There are hundreds of Taliban in camps in the mountains. My officers have been spotting them and then the information is used by the American aircraft to bomb them. ... Many of the rebels have started to flee the area.

The Washington Post reports that US troops sent to southern Afghanistan in recent months were not expecting to be as active as they have been.

When Spec. Nick Conlon and the other members of his infantry battalion learned they would be deployed to the Afghan province of Zabol this spring, many expected their worst enemy to be boredom. ... Instead, the battalion has found itself at the center of a heated though somewhat forgotten war that is still underway 3 1/2 years after the extremist Taliban militia was ousted from power.

"The Taliban forces, estimated at anywhere from 2,000 to 10,000 fighters, cannot hold territory against US forces," reports the Post, but "the Taliban has revealed itself to be a hardy, resilient foe equipped with machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars."

Afghan officials this week have been pointing the finger at Pakistan for failing to prevent militants from coming across the border. Presidential spokesman Jawed Ludin said Tuesday that Pakistan was not doing enough to fight the militants, and said there would never be peace in Afghanistan until the two countries "join hands together to fight terrorism," reports The Associated Press.

Some senior members of the Taliban, including some who are involved in killings and are considered terrorists, are in Pakistan. ... There are obvious signs and proof that these people are coming from Pakistan, and the hard evidence makes it less convincing when we are told all this is happening without the Pakistani government knowing, and without it being able to control it.

Pakistan on Wednesday assured Afghanistan of its continued support and cooperation. "[Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf] assured [Afghan President Hamid Karzai] of Pakistan's continued support and cooperation in the fight against terrorism. Pakistan condemned this menace in all its forms and manifestations," a Pakistani foreign ministry statement said.

Mr. Musharraf telephoned Mr. Karzai after receiving a call from US President George W. Bush, and just hours after Mr. Ludin said militants were getting training in Pakistan.

A senior Afghan official's account of the phone call presents " a bleaker picture of relations between the two countries," according to a Post report.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Afghanistan feared that Pakistan was seeking to destabilize its neighbor as parliamentary elections approach in September and was allowing insurgents linked to the ousted Taliban regime to launch a campaign of violence.

Pakistan vehemently denies such allegations.