U.S., Afghan troops clash with new enemy
Fighters in uniform use infantry tactics on FOB Baylough
By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Friday, December 21, 2007



Seth Robson / S&S
Soldiers load a Chinook helicopter at Forward Operating Base Baylough in Zabul Province, Afghanistan, on Sunday.
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ZABUL PROVINCE, Afghanistan — Foreign fighters with military uniforms are attacking U.S. and Afghan government forces in Zabul province using conventional infantry tactics, soldiers report.

Capt. Pongpat Piluek, 33, of Plant City, Fla., who commands Team Apache — a company level task force based around Company A, 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment — said foreign fighters are known to be operating near Forward Operating Base Baylough, an isolated outpost 8,000 feet above sea level in the mountainous Dey Chopan district.

Intelligence suggests the foreign fighters are from Uzbekistan and the rebellious Russian territory of Chechnya, in central Asia, he said.

“The foreign fighters tend to be better trained and financed than the average Taliban. They have LBVs (load bearing vests) and canteens and sometimes black or green uniforms,” he said.

During firefights the foreigners use conventional infantry tactics like flanking, bounding and fixing targets, whereas attacks by local Pashtun Taliban are usually poorly executed, Piluek said.

Maj. Sean Fisher, 37, the Task Force Zabul deputy commander and native of Deerfield Beach, Fla., said foreign fighters use Zabul as a transit route to move between Helmand and Ghazni provinces.

Maj. Harry Bird, 44, of Charleston, S.C., who leads a team of Embedded Tactical Trainers out of FOB Lane in Arghandab District, said several Chechen and Uzbek fighters have been killed in firefights with Afghan National Army troops he works with — from 1st Candat, 2nd Battalion, 205th Corps.

Cpl. Jeffrey Treaster, 33, of Harrisburg, Pa., who fights out of Baylough with Team Apache’s 2nd Platoon, said Pashtun tribesmen in the area have reported Uzbek Taliban who ride out of the mountains on horseback.

Second Platoon leader 1st Lt. Alex Sanchez, 24, of La Mirada, Calif., said the Pashtun also report foreign Taliban coming to their villages.

“The locals will say: ‘The guys who came to the village, I didn’t know who they were and when they spoke, I didn’t understand them.’ Locals will say: ‘The Uzbeks stay in the mountains. One or two will come down with a local Taliban who translates and talks to us,’” he said.

There have been numerous attacks on FOB Baylough but some are much better planned than others, Sanchez said.

“You can tell if the enemy are well-trained,” he said. “If their attack is expertly executed, soldiers assume it is foreign fighters. When it is poorly executed, soldiers assume it is locals.”




CB

It was only a matter of time before all the nuts come to join the fight against the infidels. Worst case is they train up the locals to be a well oiled killing machine. Just another reason for the U.S and allies to stop training these people in ways to kill us. We train one, he teaches his cousin and then he takes it to the enemy . Fucking Stupid for us to teach them anything IMO

Same thing now in Pakistan. Our policy is to train and equip those that may be of use to us, but then drop them when it is no longer in our political or business interest to do so. Dont expect it to change soon, because the Caspian oil pipeline needs to be completed, and to do it, we need pakistan on our side for now. As for the mercs attacking our base, I think most are doing it for money and not Islam.

Cassius

My platoon got hit by a Chechen group with a 5-6km long rolling TIC w/ small arms, RPGs, and recoilless rifles.

They were a competent enemy.

Just finished reading "Charlie Wilson's War". Great book, even better than the movie, sheds a lot of light on the challenges with the USA fighting an "undeclared" war on the USSR.

This thread just got me wondering, since the Taliban has to be getting training and weapons and $$ from somewhere, who's financing them? China, Russia, or India? All of them would like to see the USA's influence reduced in the region, in order to become the next superpower themselves, but they do a lot of business with the USA and wouldn't want to jeapordize this by being too visible.

That's just what I think about while I sit behind a computer screen all day. You guys out there doing real work, please be safe.

V-Man,

If you want to get a good understanding of the "Great Game" with regards to Afghanistan and central asia as well as the Taliban I would recommend two excellent books by Ahmed Rashid

First. "Taliban"

Second "Descent into Chaos"

The money comes primarily from Opium poppy sales as well as "taxes" on local villages.

The Taliban are mostly self-trained, keeping in mind they have been fighting tribally since before Christ was born and in more recent times, the Brits, The Russians, and now NATO.

The weapons, well, there are more weapons in AStan than you can count, everything from the ever popular AK-47 to Mosin-Nagant rifles circa 1917. And remember, up until 1977 or so AStan was a country with a standing army, tanks, artillery, AA weapons and the like.

Regards,
-Bouncer-

Heading to the library now, thanks for the good tips!