Afghan special forces exchange fire with Taliban during rescue mission in Kandahar

Record ID: 1626320

  • Title: Afghan special forces exchange fire with Taliban during rescue mission in Kandahar
  • Date: 13th July 2021
  • Summary: KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN (JULY 13, 2021) (REUTERS) HUMVEE CONVOY OF AFGHAN SPECIAL FORCES LEAVING FOR A RESCUE MISSION VIEW OF THE ROAD FROM INSIDE A MOVING HUMVEE, FRONT GLASS SHIELD CRACKED BY GUN BULLET, SOUND OF FIRE EXCHANGE HUMVEE DRIVING ON, SOUND OF GUN FIRE SPECIAL FORCES TROOPS INSIDE HUMVEE, SOUND OF GUN FIRE, OFFICER DIRECTING MACHINE GUN OPERATOR TO FIRE TOWARD TALIBAN POSITIONS TROOPS INSIDE DRIVING HUMVEE, SOUND OF GUN FIRE MACHINE GUN OPERATOR LOOKING OUT TOP OF HUMVEE HUMVEE HIT BY INCOMING FIRE VARIOUS OF SPECIAL FORCES KEEP DRIVING ON, SOUND OF GUNFIRE VARIOUS OF HUMVEE CONVOY STOPPING WHILE SPECIAL FORCES SHOOTING TOWARDS TALIBAN OFFICER SPEAKING ON PHONE WHILE HUMVEE DRIVING VIEW OF HUMVEE IN FRONT ON THE ROAD WITH OTHER VEHICLES AND MOSQUE IN THE BACKGROUND BULLET STOCK INSIDE THE HUMVEE VARIOUS OF SPECIAL FORCES UNIT DRIVING BACK FROM MISSION (SOUNDBITE) (Pashto) MEMBER OF THE AFGHAN SPECIAL FORCES, MAJOR FAZIL MOHAMMAD DAWARI, SAYING: "The enemies don't have the ability to fight with the Afghan special forces. If the enemy says they captured an area, that's just propaganda and they want to confuse people's minds. So, there's no problem, and the Afghan special forces, including other security personnel, defeated the enemies." VIEW OF ROAD FROM INSIDE DRIVING HUMVEE (SOUNDBITE) (Pashto) MEMBER OF THE AFGHAN SPECIAL FORCES, MAJOR FAZIL MOHAMMAD DAWARI, SAYING: "Afghanistan is an independent country and has an independent army, constitution, (government) system. We are the defenders of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and its flag." (SOUNDBITE) (Pashto) AFGHAN POLICEMAN RESCUED BY SPECIAL FORCES, AHMAD SHAH, SAYING: "We were 15 people (policemen), and all my comrades surrendered (to the Taliban) except me. Since last night the fighting began, and one of the security personnel was wounded. Although my comrades surrendered, I told myself that I'm not going to do that, and as long as I have a gun, why should I give up. The fighting continued for two days, and then the special forces arrived and defeated the enemies." VARIOUS OF AFGHAN SPECIAL FORCES GATHERING NEAR THEIR HUMVEES
  • Embargoed: 27th July 2021 14:19
  • Keywords: Afghan special forces RPG Taliban battle convoy fire humvees insurgents rescue mission
  • Location: KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN
  • City: KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN
  • Country: Afghanistan
  • Topics: Asia / Pacific,Conflicts/War/Peace,Insurgencies,Editors' Choice
  • Reuters ID: LVA001ELO9NPJ
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: An exhausted team of Afghan special forces had no time to recover from an overnight operation in the southern province of Kandahar before responding to an SOS call from a stranded police officer surrounded by Taliban fighters on the outskirts of Kandahar city.
    The officer, Ahmad Shah, had been held up, alone, for 18 hours and was injured. The rest of his team had surrendered to the Taliban and previous attempts to extract him had failed.
    Kandahar is one of many provinces to see a recent surge in offensives by the Taliban, which says it wants to be involved in running the country peacefully although it has always opposed the presence of foreign forces.
    The area where Shah was stranded is a hotly contested one in Kandahar - the birthplace of the Taliban in the 1990s and which continues to be a stronghold for the Islamist insurgents.
    The special forces team left in a convoy of eight Humvee vehicles carrying between 30 to 40 commandos.
    Just as the convoy entered the area where Shah was holed up, they came under heavy Taliban fire.
    A gun battle ensued as the convoy made its way to Shah's location, and he was hurriedly loaded onto one of the convoy vehicles amidst a hail of bullets.
    There was a series of loud explosions: The first three Humvees had been hit by rocket fire and destroyed. Personnel told Reuters they had been hit by an SPG-82, an anti-tank grenade launcher that is able to disable even armoured vehicles.
    Chaos ensued. Commandos inside the disabled Humvees survived with injuries and rushed to get onto the remaining vehicles. The convoy was taking fire from all sides. It came from a cemetery to the left and the heavy cover of Eucalyptus trees on the right.
    The team fired back - machine guns and grenades - not only having to defend themselves but also provide cover to their injured colleagues.
    Multiple rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) smashed into the remaining Humvees, but they were able to absorb the hits.
    "We were 15 people (policemen), and all my comrades surrendered (to the Taliban) except me," a visibly tired Shah told Reuters, which was embedded in the special forces mission. Shah said he had been fighting for two days.
    "I told myself that I'm not going to do that, and as long as I have a gun, why I should give up," he added.
    Shah was to be transported back by some members of the special forces team back to their main base.
    Others remained back to try to extract the destroyed Humvees and combat the Taliban fighters hiding in the city.
    Of the eight Humvee convoy that left the base in the morning, only one headed back.
    (Production: Danish Siddiqui, Sayed Hassib, Hameed Farzad)
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