15 December, 2006

Operation Baaz Tsuka.1

The ISAF has launched a major operation against the Taliban in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. Operation Baaz Tsuka (Falcon's Summit) will attempt to build on the earlier success of Operation Medusa in Panjawii district of Kandahar.

An early report from CBC News says:

The British-led operation, which also includes Canadian, Estonian and Danish troops, is one of the largest operations since Canadian troops led Operation Medusa in September to root out the Taliban in the same district of Kandahar province....

...Maj.-Gen. Ton Van Loon, commander of ISAF in the south, said the operation is a "show of unity and strength" and a demonstration by ISAF of its ability to combat and defeat the Taliban.

The alliance consulted tribal elders and district leaders before embarking the operation, which was planned with the help of Afghan security forces, Van Loon said.

"Operation Baaz Tsuka will send a very strong and direct message to the Taliban that the people of Afghanistan want them to leave," he said in the release. "Those people contemplating joining the Taliban should listen to their tribal elders and choose the way of peace, not destruction."
Other initial reports from Reuters and CTV.

CTV also has a related report on a NATO attack on a Taliban command post in Panjawii late on Wednesday night:
...a Canadian military spokesman said he hopes Canadian troops battling the Taliban will be able to continue to build on the momentum from Operation Medusa, a massive anti-Taliban offensive into the Panjwaii region that ended around the middle of September.


Update 16.12.06

This is an explanatory note, just to inform anybody who has ended up here looking for further details of Operation Baaz Tsuka: it appears to be a primarily British-led operation and the one thing the usually hapless Ministry of Defence is good at is security. If normal operating procedure is followed, there will quite possibly be no statements until the operation is over. Moreover, except for the disgraceful BBC, the UK press is usually highly responsible about such matters. Protecting the lives of British servicemen in combat far outweighs anybody's right to know.

Tags: , , ,

No comments: