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En route to Helmand
Taken over South Kandahar ProvinceOff we went to
Lashkar Gar the capital city of Helmand Province.... previously real bandit country for the British Army and even now held somewhat tenuously.
Our compound in 'Lash' had been attacked by the AOG (Afghan Opposition Group - a polite name for the enemy - the Taliban) a couple of weeks previously. Two Talibs had disguised themselves in burqas, taken a taxi to the back of the compound and climbed over the wall at a blind spot. Very fortunately one of our expatriate close protection officers (mostly ex British or South African Army with a sprinkle of Foreign Legion) saw the attackers and raised the alarm; a fire fight ensued with both sides exchanging multiple rounds before the attackers were shot dead. But by that time they had wounded some of our staff. It was a narrow escape because the young Taliban were weighted down with hand grenades and explosive vests which they failed to explode. Lack of training and being high on drugs didn't help them and they faced some of the best soldiers in the world.
So, off to Lash to inspect the scene of the action and to investigate some of the agricultural potential.
Lashkar Gar
Coming in to land at the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) military base in Lash The city is at the confluence of the Arghandab and Helmand Rivers and has another major irrigation system that grows fruit trees, grapes, wheat etc. Our visit lasted a couple of days fortunately without another incident and we flew back to Kandahar aboard our old Russian 'truck', the reliable MI8 helo.
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Bashir Ahmad
non-member comment
good explanation about Afghanistan
this short view taken by US photographer shows just a little part of Afghanistan but if we take a look at all it means we have alot of thing to be displayed in this journey anyhow it is also good to see and get information , thanks