Pentagon flies home 18 body bags
By Naveed Miraj The Frontier Post (Pakistan)
Updated on 11/7/2001 10:20:07 AM
ISLAMABAD: All was set to fly eighteen body bags to the United States from Quetta some time Tuesday night, The Frontier Post has learnt.
Well placed sources disclosed to this scribe that the arrangements are in place to fly home eighteen dead bodies lying in a Quetta hospital.
The sources confirmed that these bodies are of US Special Forces troops who lost their lives on the course of the campaign in Afghanistan.
"These soldiers died in action and not in any accident", said a source.
The precise time of the departure of the body bags could not be ascertained.
Although the Pentagon released details of the first operation of US marines, it has kept a lid on all subsequent operations launched by US marines.
The source said US troops are quite actively involved in the operations inside Afghanistan particularly near Kandahar.
These forces are backing up the efforts of Pakhtoon leader Hamid Karazai.
Hamid a former Afghan commander has sneaked into Afghanistan and is meeting local leadership there to convince them to rebel against Taliban.
A few days back Taliban surrounded Hamid Karazai's party, but Karzai and his companions were able to fight their way out.
Afghan sources say Karzai's party included US troops, who also received help from the air when the crunch came.
These forces were then able to move Karazai out to safety.
Sources in Quetta claimed that the US forces were suffering causalities and in the last few weeks many dead bodies were brought to Quetta and were flown away.
Pentagon however has preferred to keep the exact number of causalities secret.