Montreal Gazette
Friday, November 9, 2001
Page: A1 / FRONT
Section: News
Byline: LEVON SEVUNTS
Column: In Afghanistan
Source: The Gazette
DASHT-E QALA, Afghanistan – The anti-Taliban United Islamic Front has advanced to 8 kilometres south of Mazar-e Sharif, a strategically important city in northern Afghanistan, a top UIF commander said last night.
General Mamur Hassan said he believes Mazar-e Sharif will fall to the anti-Taliban forces within days.
This information could not be independently verified. Similar claims were made two weeks ago, but UIF forces were then thrown back 20 kilometres by a Taliban counteroffensive.
Earlier, speaking with a half a dozen reporters who found refuge in his compound in Dasht-e Qala, northern Afghanistan, Hassan gave an impromptu press conference over breakfast.
One of the most infamous Taliban commanders was killed and three others were captured Wednesday, Hassan said.
He said Commander Gargaray, a ferocious and ruthless Taliban commanders, was killed as the result of the U.S. bombing near Mazar-e Sharif.
“He was one of the most feared and despised Taliban commanders,” Hassan said.
“We were worried when we learned about his appointment to the Mazar-e Sharif front. We called him ‘The Dog,’ but now he’s taken care of.”
The killing of Gargaray and the capture of three top Taliban commanders by the forces of Uzbek warlord General Abdul Rashid Dostum represent a significant achievement for the anti- Taliban coalition, Hassan said.
Hassan also said that he was pleased with the growing intensity of the U.S. bombing campaign.
“The bombing, however, is less effective than we wished because the Taliban hide in populated areas,” Hassan said.
He said disagreements persist between the UIF, also known as the Northern Alliance, and the United States on how to fight the Taliban.
“General Muhammad Fahim (the UIF defence minister) and the Americans have been meeting to consult with each other,” Hassan said. “But in my opinion, the Americans shouldn’t have started the war without consulting with us.
“At the beginning, they didn’t help us. They didn’t even look at our military plans. But now, the United States and the UIF are sitting together to work out our differences.”
Hassan said the U.S. has started to supply the UIF troops with small amounts of ammunition.
“We haven’t seen any American help in this area,” Hassan said. “But I spoke with General Dostum last night and he told me that he received weapons and ammunition airdrops.
“He told me that the Americans dropped 50 AK-47 assault rifles, 20 boxes of rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), 50 boxes of ammunition for PK machine guns and 100 boxes of AK-47 ammunition.”
Hassan complained, however, that for Dostum’s 10,000 soldiers, the airdrop was a drop in a bucket.
He said he needs at least 2,000 rocket-propelled grenades for his own troops to fight the Taliban.
“We know where the Taliban are hiding, but you can’t use large bombs for the risk of killing innocent people,” Hassan said. “You need to use smaller weapons like RPGs.”
“I have 100 grenade-launchers. During one day of fighting, each might fire 20 grenades. You do the math.”
Hassan said 18 U.S. and British experts are working with Dostum’s various commanders.
“Their main job is to direct air strikes and to advise General Dostum and his commanders,” Hassan said.
He would not say how many U.S. and British troops are in the area under his command, although he confirmed that there are some.
“Less than 20, maybe 10,” he said, smiling coyly.
Hassan said his forces are getting ready for an offensive. But he said the offensive cannot start before Fahim returns from Panjsher, where he is meeting top commanders.
“He should be here when the offensive starts,” Hassan said.
However, it was Fahim’s deputy, General Attiqola Bareollay, who was scouting the front lines yesterday.
Bareollay, flanked by a half a dozen officers, made a surprise visit to the front-line positions at Puze Pulekhomry.
Though the front lines near Dasht-e Qala were quiet for the most part yesterday, Bareollay’s visit was unusual. He was last seen on that hill with 10 U.S. or British soldiers, who called in the first air strikes to hit the area almost two weeks ago.
U.S. bombers made one bomb run in the morning and dropped at least two heavy bombs on Taliban positions at the Kala Kata hill yesterday.
Unlike Wednesday, when anti-Taliban soldiers lobbed 22 mortars at Taliban positions on Kala Kata and were shelled by the Taliban gunners, there was no return shelling yesterday.
The UIF soldiers tested a rusting ZK-1 heavy machine gun, which had been in a repair shop for 20 days.
It took nine soldiers about 20 minutes to mount the heavy gun. The trigger of the machine gun wasn’t working. So a soldier hit it with an empty shell casing, using the casing as a hammer to fire the gun.
The test fire drew some sporadic return fire from the Taliban positions in the valley bellow, but the UIF soldiers didn’t even bother to take cover in their trenches.
Two weeks ago, before the U.S. bombing, they would have been outgunned and under a barrage of return fire, they said.
The firepower of the UIF troops was expected to grow more significantly today.
In a sign of an imminent offensive, they said they are expecting to receive tanks and armoured personnel carriers, a luxury only dreamed of before.