PACHA KHAK - U.S. Army Sgt. Cullen Wurzer, right, Staff Sgt. Cody Johnson, center, 1st Lt. Andy Zaidi, left, and U.S. Army Spc. Shane Taylor, back, discuss plans to maneuver into Pacha Khak village, Afghanistan, April 7, 2011, while conducting a dismounted patrol. The soldiers, who are assigned to 34th Infantry Division's 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment, searched the village for weapons caches and also conducted a key leader engagement with village malik. U.S. Army Photo by Spc. Kristina L. Gupton Ambushed On Afghanistan’s ‘Red Mountain’ -- The Danger Room
MARGAH, Afghanistan — The gunshot sounded like splitting wood. The American paratroopers, scattered across the hills of this rough border town in eastern Paktika province, dove for cover behind rocks, mud walls and irrigation ditches. A few seconds later, they trained their weapons on their attackers’ location.
The ensuing firefight — pitting the soldiers of Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment plus their attached Afghan troops against a small band of Taliban fighters — was the climax to a suspense story told in reverse on April 8. The Americans’ 13-hour patrol began with a brief, intense gunfight then trailed off in mystery and ambiguity amid the unforgiving terrain and unfamiliar local culture in one of Afghanistan’s most strategic provinces.
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More News On Afghanistan
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Afghan, Coalition Forces Kill Several Insurgents -- US Department of Defense
Forces report capture, deaths of militants -- UPI
South West troops off to Afghanistan -- BBC
Marine Battalion Returns Home From Afghanistan Bloody Deployment -- ABC
West trains spies to hunt Taliban in Afghan forces -- Yahoo News/Reuters
U.S. aims to end combat mission in Afghanistan by 2015 -- Xinhuanet
Afghan opposition cautions US on Taliban talks -- Yahoo News/AFP
Afghan Opposition Wants 'Fundamental Reforms' -- NPR
Presidents of Pakistan, Turkey discuss Afghan war -- Yahoo News/AP
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Images from Afghanistan — April 2011 -- Washington Post
David Miliband warns Afghanistan is 'forgotten war' -- BBC
Afghanistan: Why The Occupiers Are Hated -- Strategy Page
Time to extract U.S. troops from the Afghanistan quagmire -- Alex Alben, Seattle Times
At least 1,424 US military deaths in Afghanistan since 2001 -- Washington Times/AP