Not Much More On That Al-Qaeda Story
Several people e-mailed me the link to the report at ABC's The Blotter about a supposed attack on an al-Qaeda stronghold in Afghanistan over the last few days. The attack targeted an unnamed member of AQ leadership, and some speculated it might be Osama himself:
For the past two days, U.S. and NATO forces have been conducting a major attack against a compound in a remote area of Eastern Afghanistan where Osama bin Laden or another senior al Qaeda leader may be hiding, ABC News has learned.According to eyewitnesses and local reporters in Kunar province, Coalition forces launched a fierce attack on a small enclave in the village of Mandaghel, approximately 17 miles from the border with Pakistan, on Friday afternoon. Warplanes pounded the positions ; U.S. special forces and Afghan National Army soldiers moved in shortly afterwards.
The assault appeared to meet stiff resistance from militants at the compound. Heavy artillery and gunfire could be heard for hours, local witnesses said . A handful of civilians were reportedly wounded in the strike. Though sealed off from outside access, the area now appears to be under coalition control.
U.S. officials declined to identify who the operation was targeting, but indicated they were after a "High Value Target" (HVT) . Official sources would not rule out that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden himself was the intended victim. Afghan officials said the target could be another senior ranking al Qaeda leader.
I held off on linking to the report until more details became known. After all, NATO still fights the war against the Taliban in that region, and it seems speculative to assume that this is anything more than catching a contingent of jihadists napping in large numbers. The only hard evidence supplied in the report that the attack might be something more than that or an operation against a druglord is the fact that Wahhabists prevail in that area.
Today, I have heard nothing else on this report. If I read something, I will update this post. I wanted to allow CQ readers to know that I'm keeping an eye on the story, but nothing much seems to be developing from it. Feel free to post links to further details in the comments.
Posted by Ed Morrissey on March 4, 2007 8:21 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (3)
