Pakistan speaks: Again about the Pentagon’s losses

Pakistani mass media reports sensational information. As a result of a battle with the Taliban’s troops near to the airport where the US Marines are now located, 16 military men were killed. According to the Frontier Post, the battle took place at night on November 26, when the first party of the troops landed arrived to airport near to Kandahar.

As a result of the battle with the Taliban that occured at the airport, 16 paratroopers were killed, while nothing is known about the Taliban’s losses. The transfer of US marines near Kandahar is being continued, while the number of military men at the airport area is already 1,000 people. Frontier Post also reports that US helicopters have annihilated a Taliban’s column of 15 cars and armoured troop-carriers. This became known yesterday from US official sources. However, later, an amendment was introduced: the columns was annihilated not by helicopters, but by deck aviation of US Air Force. This discrepancy makes one hesitate. The point is that the Pakistani newspaper reports about the annihilated column referring to its sources in the Taliban’s leadership. These sources practically word for word quoted Western agencies’ reports that appeared yesterday morning, while additional information arrived in the afternoon.

Therefore, there is an impression that the fresh issue of the newspaper was already made up, and this was the reason why “sources” in the Taliban’s leadership possess doubtful information. It should be noticed that this is not the first report of the kind issued by Pakistani mass media. For example, on November 24, Pakistani News reported about lare losses of US special forces in Afghanistan. It is said that, as a result of the special operation against the Taliban’s leadership, 32 soldiers of the special forces were killed, while several dozens were injured. Their bodies were secretly transported to Pakistan. According to News, Pentagon specially suppresses these facts. The News report was neither confirmed nor refuted by Pentagon. Now, there are concrete doubts about these facts’ trustworthiness.

On the whole, the situation in Afghanistan changed within the last 24 hours. Groups of Pushtun commanders hold the town Tahat-Pul, situated between Kandahar and Pakistani border; therefore, the connection is broken between Kandahar and Quetta. Discrepant reports arrive from the town of Spin-Boldak, situated at a distance of 7 km from the border. As if the town was won without a battle from the Taliban by the Pushtun, RIA ‘Novosti’ reports. Eye-witnesses report that robbery has started in the town. Later, information arrived that the fundamentalists refused to leave the town.

The Pushtun advance can start any moment. The Taliban’s commander Kari Abdul Bali announced that his groups did not only control the city but they even had gone to Tahta-Pul to battle with Pushtun. Fights took place in the city Malipula, at a distance of 20 km towards south from Tahta-Pul, where mullah Mohammad Rauf is in command of the troops.

In Kandahar, the Taliban are intending to fight till final victory, in spite of continuing mass bombardments of US aviation. This was reported by ex-ambassador of the Taliban to Pakistan, Abdul Salam Zaif. According to him, the fundamentalists’ spiritual leader mullah Omar is still in the city or in its outskirts, while there is no connection with Osama bin Laden already for 20 days.

Read the original in Russian: http://www.pravda.ru/main/2001/11/28/34284.html