'Audacious' Taliban attack fails in Helmand

Times:

British and Afghan forces repulsed an attempt by hundreds of Taleban fighters to attack the provincial capital of Helmand, Lashkar Gah, on Saturday night in the most audacious Taliban attack in the province since 2006.

Up to 100 Taleban fighters were killed in a series of airstrikes and firefights around the city outskirts in fighting that began in the early evening as Taleban fighters were concentrating to attack the city of three sides and continued into the early hours of Sunday morning.

It was the first time that the Helmand capital has been attacked.

The Taleban plan appeared to be for a “Tet Offensive” style infiltration of the city, the seat of the Afghan provincial government and home to the headquarters of the British commander in Helmand and the civilian reconstruction component of the British mission in Helmand.

Had the infiltration succeeded then British and Afghan forces would have faced confused street fighting in which Western airstrikes would have been impossible without the risk of causing mass civilian deaths in the city.

A British army spokesman said that the Taleban operation displayed "a level of co-ordination that wasn't expected." He estimated the Taleban forces at around 170, though some Afghan estimates were much higher.

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At around 1700hours we detected terrorist vehicles moving in just to the west of the river (on the western edge of Lashkar Gah). By 1730 there were three or four separate groupings. There appeared to be a plan to attack on three different sides, with a blocking force on the fourth side. We waited until the terrorists were concentrated and then attacked with maximum effect," he added.

The British Army spokesman said that an initial airstrike in a wooded area called Bolan, west of the city, killed 27 Taleban fighters and injured approximately the same number.

There were then follow up strikes by British Apache ground attack helicopters on further concentrations of Taleban fighters. Afghan National Army and Police were also involved in ground skirmishes around the city limits which continued until 3am on Sunday morning.

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Today, local residents who didn't want to be named for fear of Taleban retribution said they saw two truckloads filled with dead and wounded Taleban driven away from the Lashkar Bazaar area on the east of the city after the attack.

Another report was of Taleban dead being buried in the Bolan area. Alhough the Taleban attack appears to have been decisively defeated, local people said that there was atmosphere of rising panic inside Lashkar Gah.

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While the fight may have been audacious it was not particularly well designed or executed. It sounds like it was a company size attack of light infantry reinforced with a mortar squad. Because of their poor timing they were discovered before the mortars could be set up and become effective.

By arriving in late afternoon while there was still daylight they were easily discovered in their large trucks. The Afghan forces reacted quickly and called in supporting arms including air support that destroyed the attack and killed a significant number of the Taliban. There had to be several survivors of the attack to be able to collect the bodies and retreat in the vehicles.