AUSSIES - Aggressive & Precise

Diggers hammer Taliban fighters
Article from: Sunday Herald Sun
Lincoln Wright
August 12, 2007 12:00am

AUSTRALIAN soldiers have fought a second bloody battle with Muslim extremists in Afghanistan in just days.

A detachment of Australians killed and wounded several Taliban fighters in a 90-minute gun battle.

The battle left blood trails, but no Taliban were captured, dead or alive.

NATO Apache attack helicopters were called in to attack the insurgents.

"They hammered them with rockets and there was apparently very little left of some of the attackers' positions," a military source said.

The fighting broke out in the Oruzgan province where the Australian soldiers were guarding a reconstruction team of engineers building a checkpoint.

A group of Taliban fighters attacked the soldiers and an armoured vehicle with small arms fire and rocket propelled grenades from several directions around midday.

The Taliban fighters were repulsed by helicopter gunships from the International Security Assistance Force, a light armoured vehicle and five Australian soldiers.

The Australians were ambushed from several sides during the battle.
"An aggressive and precise response by our soldiers repelled the Taliban attack," Defence spokesman Brigadier Andrew Nikolic said.

"The fighting was reported as being close and intense and it was the firepower, mobility and protection the soldiers had at their disposal that proved the difference in this contact."

No Australians were injured, but Brigadier Nikolic said the Taliban force was believed to have sustained casualties.

The Australian soldiers involved in the attack were providing security to the Reconstruction Task Force, which has been rebuilding in the area.

On Wednesday, Australian soldiers had engaged Taliban forces in another firefight. That attack lasted for about two hours, but was also unsuccessful, with no Australian troops wounded, no vehicles damaged and no disruption to the reconstruction task.

Apache helicopters gave an overview of the battle for the Australian force.