Taliban mirror communications give away positions
The Taliban are not very good at executing an ambush. In most cases when they trigger the ambush their forces are the ones that are destroyed. The Royal Marines patrol is typical for the type of warfare being used in Afghanistan. The patrols help identify enemy locations and protect the operating base. In virtually every report of action against the Taliban, the enemy has had significant casualties and inflicted few casualties on the NATO or US forces. By that measure the Taliban are clearly losing. What NATO and the US have to be careful of is the unfair measure pushed by many in the media in Iraq which suggest that enemy attacks even if failed are the measure. This is a ridiculous standard, but it helps them push their agenda.Royal Marine Commandos are believed to have killed up to 10 Taliban fighters yesterday following a brief but ferocious battle in southern Afghanistan.
The Marines were conducting a foot patrol six miles east of the town of Gereshk in the southern province of Helmand when they were ambushed by insurgents armed with 81mm mortars and automatic weapons. The attack provoked a fierce response by the commandos, who fired more than 2,000 rounds during the 25-minute battle. No Marines were injured.
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The attack took place at 2.15pm local time as more than 50 troops from J Company 42 Commando were coming to the end of a five-hour patrol into an area known to have been heavily infiltrated by the insurgents.
The Marines, who had previously been wading through waist-deep water in an attempt to remain hidden from the insurgents, were making their way to an agreed rendezvous point when they were fired on by two Taliban mortar positions either side of the river Helmand.
In an unusual departure from normal Taliban tactics, the commandos believe the Taliban may have been using mirrors to range their fire on to their position. The tactic, however, backfired and gave away the Taliban's position, enabling the commandos to locate and "neutralise" the insurgents.
Major Ewen Murchison, commander of J Company, who was leading the patrol, said that in the initial stages of the battle none of his men could identify the Taliban positions until they started communicating with each other using mirrors.
He said: "There was a degree of chaos for the first 10 to 15 minutes until things calmed down. If you come under effective enemy fire the first thing you have to do is identify the target and anyone who identifies the target is clear to engage it.
"We were mortared first from the north, then from the south, then we identified the group with mirrors, some of whom were clearly armed and we neutralised them."
Major Murchison, who has seen action in Bosnia and on previous tours of Afghanistan, said: "We engaged them with all of our weapon systems. We employed our.5 heavy calibre machine guns and 7.62mm machine guns and we neutralised two of the three positions."
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The Taliban is not a defeat-able 'army'. They aren't an army to begin with. Battlefield ineptitude is only part of a much larger narrative.
ReplyDeleteThe Taliban is a horribly misguided social and cultural movement. As long as America devotes a majority of its Afghanistan-based resources to armed conflict, the Taliban will continue to survive.
The 'battle' in Afghanistan isn't one of guns and bombs. It's about social stability in place of terrorism and tribal conflict. In this regard we are losing badly. We are simply not doing enough to make a serious difference in the lives of a majority of Afghanis and win them over to a non-violent or way of life.