.Afghanistan: Troops face wall of silence from terrified villagers
The American patrol had found the dusty streets of Sahak bazaar unusually quiet that morning. Most people were distant and unwilling to talk. Those who did speak insisted there were no Taliban fighters nearby.
Barely two hours later, the first mortar round was fired at US soldiers from inside the village. A few seconds passed before a machine gun opened fire from a mud-walled compound the patrol had walked past only that morning.
In south-eastern Afghanistan, thinly stretched US forces are not only hunting down Taliban gunmen. They are also fighting a counter-insurgency war among terrified civilians, who are caught between them and the insurgents and are deeply reluctant to risk death by helping the coalition.
When the men of the 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry, part of the 101st Airborne Division, first heard they were going to Sahak, they took bets on how long it would take the Taliban to fire rockets at them. In this patch of Paktia province, Sahak has a reputation as a "bad part of town". In May, it was the scene of an ambush and a separate attack by three roadside bombs, which injured several American soldiers.
Securing Sahak is now a priority. Bolstered by a battalion of Afghan soldiers, commanders plan a string of combat outposts to pacify the region, starting in Sahak itself.
The soldiers from 1st Platoon in Alpha Troop, popularly known as the "Hooligans", were given the task of capturing and holding a barren hillside until an armoured convoy of engineers could arrive to build the outpost.
As they waited for the 80-vehicle convoy to crawl along the booby trap-riddled road from the town of Gardez, the Taliban duly fired as many rockets at them as possible.
At 9.30 sharp every morning, the projectiles began falling. A thump two miles away was met with shouts of "incoming!" and a scramble for rocky cover. A second of tense waiting would be followed by a woosh overhead and a burst of black smoke on the hillside.
After each explosion, the soldiers' eyes scanned the tree lines, stream beds and compounds below for signs of a launch site. Facing aerial surveillance, artillery and air strikes if spotted, the Taliban rocket teams mount their weaponry inside cars or pickup trucks, quickly firing three or four missiles before fleeing.
"It's their version of a drive-by shooting, but with much bigger munitions," explained Lt Blaine Cooper, the 25-year-old platoon leader.
The platoon claimed its first victory on the fourth day of the barrage, when a missile fired from an unmanned drone hit a pickup truck seen leaving a launch site.
But it soon became clear that the Taliban's hold on the area around Sahak ran deeper than their ability to launch inaccurate 107mm rockets.
When questioned, not one villager had seen where the rockets had come from, nor who had launched them. Each swore they had been too busy visiting relatives, working or praying to notice anything unusual.
One or two reluctantly revealed glimpses of the brutal punishment that faces anyone caught helping the Afghan army or foreign forces.
Abdul Kadir, a 52-year-old minibus driver, said that insurgents had murdered his son for being a police officer and his body had lain undiscovered in a field for three days.
Mohammed Rahim, a 20-year-old truck driver who fidgeted with nerves, said Taliban gunmen had arrived in his village after dark, going from house to house seeking anyone helping President Hamid Karzai's government.
Azim Ullah, a local villager, summed up their dilemma. "It's true there are some people providing food for the Taliban. They have no choice. If armed Taliban come to my door and say bring me food, what should I do?"
Privately, some American soldiers find it hard to understand how ordinary Afghans can plead for security – and offer no support in hunting down the insurgents.
Others suspect the Afghans are still sitting on the fence, undecided over which side to back. But Lt Col Thomas O'Steen, the senior US commander in Paktia, said the new outpost near Sahak was driving the Taliban away.
"We are getting indications that they are leaving here. The main leaders are leaving here to avoid capture or being killed. They have left two rocket teams behind to see if they can drive us out and come back," he said.
Telegraph
Barely two hours later, the first mortar round was fired at US soldiers from inside the village. A few seconds passed before a machine gun opened fire from a mud-walled compound the patrol had walked past only that morning.
In south-eastern Afghanistan, thinly stretched US forces are not only hunting down Taliban gunmen. They are also fighting a counter-insurgency war among terrified civilians, who are caught between them and the insurgents and are deeply reluctant to risk death by helping the coalition.
When the men of the 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry, part of the 101st Airborne Division, first heard they were going to Sahak, they took bets on how long it would take the Taliban to fire rockets at them. In this patch of Paktia province, Sahak has a reputation as a "bad part of town". In May, it was the scene of an ambush and a separate attack by three roadside bombs, which injured several American soldiers.
Securing Sahak is now a priority. Bolstered by a battalion of Afghan soldiers, commanders plan a string of combat outposts to pacify the region, starting in Sahak itself.
The soldiers from 1st Platoon in Alpha Troop, popularly known as the "Hooligans", were given the task of capturing and holding a barren hillside until an armoured convoy of engineers could arrive to build the outpost.
As they waited for the 80-vehicle convoy to crawl along the booby trap-riddled road from the town of Gardez, the Taliban duly fired as many rockets at them as possible.
At 9.30 sharp every morning, the projectiles began falling. A thump two miles away was met with shouts of "incoming!" and a scramble for rocky cover. A second of tense waiting would be followed by a woosh overhead and a burst of black smoke on the hillside.
After each explosion, the soldiers' eyes scanned the tree lines, stream beds and compounds below for signs of a launch site. Facing aerial surveillance, artillery and air strikes if spotted, the Taliban rocket teams mount their weaponry inside cars or pickup trucks, quickly firing three or four missiles before fleeing.
"It's their version of a drive-by shooting, but with much bigger munitions," explained Lt Blaine Cooper, the 25-year-old platoon leader.
The platoon claimed its first victory on the fourth day of the barrage, when a missile fired from an unmanned drone hit a pickup truck seen leaving a launch site.
But it soon became clear that the Taliban's hold on the area around Sahak ran deeper than their ability to launch inaccurate 107mm rockets.
When questioned, not one villager had seen where the rockets had come from, nor who had launched them. Each swore they had been too busy visiting relatives, working or praying to notice anything unusual.
One or two reluctantly revealed glimpses of the brutal punishment that faces anyone caught helping the Afghan army or foreign forces.
Abdul Kadir, a 52-year-old minibus driver, said that insurgents had murdered his son for being a police officer and his body had lain undiscovered in a field for three days.
Mohammed Rahim, a 20-year-old truck driver who fidgeted with nerves, said Taliban gunmen had arrived in his village after dark, going from house to house seeking anyone helping President Hamid Karzai's government.
Azim Ullah, a local villager, summed up their dilemma. "It's true there are some people providing food for the Taliban. They have no choice. If armed Taliban come to my door and say bring me food, what should I do?"
Privately, some American soldiers find it hard to understand how ordinary Afghans can plead for security – and offer no support in hunting down the insurgents.
Others suspect the Afghans are still sitting on the fence, undecided over which side to back. But Lt Col Thomas O'Steen, the senior US commander in Paktia, said the new outpost near Sahak was driving the Taliban away.
"We are getting indications that they are leaving here. The main leaders are leaving here to avoid capture or being killed. They have left two rocket teams behind to see if they can drive us out and come back," he said.
Telegraph
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