'These Guys Will Kill Anybody' Detained Warlord's Gunmen Pursue Western Journalists
By Peter Baker Washington Post Foreign Service Tuesday, March 5, 2002; Page A01
ZURMAT, Afghanistan, March 4 -- War has returned with a vengeance to the mountains of Afghanistan. It was visible today in explosions near and far, in the contagious anxiety of American soldiers, and in the smoldering hatred of Afghan gunmen in this sad village of mud homes beneath the comet tails of circling B-52 bombers.
Two such gunmen sat on the earthen wall here this afternoon, cursing Americans. U.S. soldiers had recently detained their patron, a minor local warlord, apparently on suspicion of supporting Taliban or al Qaeda. Within earshot of an interpreter, they plotted in Pashto to kidnap a knot of Western journalists standing before them.
"These [expletives] put our boss in jail. Why shouldn't we keep them as hostages?" one of the men was heard to say.
"What are you waiting for?" the other answered. "Are you waiting for instructions?"
Retreating quickly from Zurmat by convoy, the journalists were first pursued by gunmen and then approached on the road by a man who appeared to throw a grenade at one of the vehicles. An explosion seriously wounded a Canadian journalist, who was later evacuated from a U.S. military outpost. Her colleagues remained stranded overnight outside the base, as American forces hunkered down inside.
"There's a lot of bad guys around here," warned one Special Forces soldier, who gave his name only as Mike. "These guys will kill anybody. If you're an American, they'll kill you."
The intensity of the fighting was clear from Zurmat, the closest accessible village to Shahikot, a remote hamlet where al Qaeda forces had massed before the start of the offensive. Pounding by U.S. bombers has been so unremitting that the peaks of some mountains have turned black. The snow on the tops of others has melted from the heat of thunderous explosions.
The U.S.-led attack has not been welcomed by residents here. None professed knowledge about Taliban or al Qaeda members in the area.
"They are so unhappy, they are so sad," said Mohammed Shafiq, 25, a teacher. "Everybody is crying. No one can sleep during the bombing. People cannot go to the bazaar. People cannot go outside."
full: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38514-2002Mar4.html