June 25, 2006
TET EVERY DAY:
2 coalition troops, 45 militants killed in Afghanistan (ASSOCIATED PRESS, 6/25/06)
Fighting killed two coalition soldiers and 45 militants in southern Afghanistan, military officials said Sunday. [...]The four-hour gunbattle began late Saturday in the Panjwayi district of southern Kandahar province, said Gen. Rahmatullah Roufi.
Coalition forces initially engaged eight to 10 enemy fighters, the coalition said. The militants attempted to flee the but then joined other fighters in a nearby compound.
Coalition forces attacked the compound, killing an estimated 45 militants, the coalition said.
Military officials recovered a weapons cache of AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades, Roufi said.
The deaths come a day after more than 80 militants were reported killed in multiple gunfights in southern Afghanistan.
Posted by Orrin Judd at June 25, 2006 9:44 AM
I guess the media has adopted this "militant" terminology to suggest that we are dealing with some kind of unorganized or insignificant enemy.
I sure don't remember that dispatch from Saigon about battles with "militants" in southern Viet Nam, or the one from London about battles with "militants" in western France.
Posted by: curt at June 25, 2006 2:10 PMNice headline. Too bad 95% of America wouldn't get it.
Posted by: ghostcat at June 25, 2006 2:14 PMAnd of course the MSM will only report the 2 US troops dead, preventing viewers getting the proper context.