Talk:2003 Lejay firefight/Archives/2011/December

fog of war

User:Sherurcij has found some references that are new to me. I think they are inconsistent with other sources. I am going to put a table here, trying to track the competing assertions.

In consistent elements include:

  • the number of enemy fighters observed
  • the weapons used
  • how and where the enemy fighters fled
  • the nature of the US mission
  • time of day the incident occurred.
source date claim(s)
NYTimes 2003-2-12
  • American convoy was "ambushed"[1]
  • incident occurred[1]
  • Five enemies were observed[1]
  • skirmish occurred at dawn.[1]

aerial bombardment

aerial bombardment reports
source date report
cursor.org 2003-03-10
  • close air support was called-in, and Dutch and Norwegian F-16s dropped five GBU-12 500-pound laser-guided bombs [made by Lockheed Martin] and more than 100 rounds of 20mm ammunition was fired upon 'targets.[2]
Hindu Times
  • close air support was called in, Dutch and Norwegian F-16s dropped five GBU-12 500-pound laser-guided bombs (made by Lockheed Martin) and more than 100 rounds of 20 mm ammunition was fired upon `targets'.[3]
  • Later that day ... called in air support and four days of intermittent U.S., Danish and Norwegian bombing...[3]
  • On February 11, B-1s and B-52s dropped nearly twenty 2,000-pound bombs and Danish F-16s dropped 500 pound GBU-12 bombs on the area around Baghran village.[3] The planes kept up the bombing for eight hours that day.3 Less than 48 hours after the initial skirmish, two reporters who have excelled in independent reporting from Afghanistan - Carlotta Gall of The New York Times and Rory McCarthy of The Guardian - filed stories citing Afghan officials in the Baghran area who said at least 17 civilians had been killed in the U.S., Danish and Norwegian onslaught.4 An aide to the Governor of Helmand province said villagers had complained to the provincial authorities about the civilian deaths which included those of women and children.
  • On February 12, a B-52 dropped another 2,000-pound JDAM bomb and an AC-130 gunship fired ten 105mm cannon rounds, reportedly into the ridges and caves.8 A villager from Shina Keli said that he had seen bodies of eight people, all members of one family, who he said had died in the February 12 air attack carried out by a B-52 bomber and an AC-130 gunship.[3]
NYTimes 2003-2-12
  • Two Dutch F-16 planes, part of the coalition force, dropped laser-guided bombs, and American A-10 planes fired machine guns into the ridge and caves where the gunmen had been seen.[1]
Yahoo News 2003-02-13
  • King said a B-52 aircraft dropped a 2,000-pound "smart bomb" at caves in the Baghran valley on Wednesday night and an AC-130 gunship fired ten 105 mm cannon rounds.[4]
BBC 2003-02-14
  • Coalition warplanes dropped four 500 pound (230kg) bombs and fired several hundred rounds of ammunition at the caves on Thursday.[5]
CSMonitor 2003-12-26
  • a group of five apparent Taliban fighters fired on a US military patrol near the town of Baghran. US soldiers called in an airstrike of F-16 jet fighters, which dropped 500 pound bombs on a series of caves where the attackers had taken refuge.

[6]

Number of casualties and captives

Number of casualties and captives and suspects at large
Source Date Notes
Yahoo News 2003-02-13
  • King said coalition forces had detained 15 people for questioning over suspected links with the Taliban.[4]
  • King said U.S.-led coalition planes had targeted caves and ridgelines where a group of about 30 armed men believed linked to the ousted Taliban regime were sighted.[4]
  • King said a number of opposing fighters had been killed but he declined to be specific, expect to say the total was "something less than the 30 we have seen."[4]

captives

captives apprehended in Lejay
isn name notes
972 Alif Mohammed
  • Veteran of Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
  • Alleged to have been armed with an AK-47, and a satellite phone.
  • Said to be a drug addict, who had to beg from neighbors to feed his family.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Gall, Carlotta. New York Times, Carlotta Gall (February 12, 2003). "Ambushed In Afghanistan, G.I.'s Call In Airstrikes". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ Marc W. Herold (March 10, 2003). "Et Plus Ca Change...Patterns of Death and Deceit in Afghanistan". cursor.org. Retrieved 2008-04-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ a b c d http://www.thehindu.com/fline/fl2319/stories/20061006000306100.htm "A rain of bombs". Hindu Times. Retrieved 2008-04-30.
  4. ^ a b c d Mirwais Afghan (Thursday February 13 2003). "Afghans Say More Civilians Die in U.S.-Led Raids". Yahoo News. Retrieved 2008-04-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ "Coalition forces step up Afghan raids". BBC. Friday, 14 February, 2003. Retrieved 2008-04-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ Scott Baldauf (February 26 2003). "US close to cornering Taliban forces". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2008-04-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)