GlobalSecurity.org In the News

Raids intensify; Red Cross hit in error

By Jonathan Weisman

WASHINGTON -- More than 100 U.S. warplanes pounded Afghanistan on Tuesday as the Pentagon employed a new weapon in its assault against Taliban and terrorist targets: low-flying gunships designed to shred targets with machine guns and cannon fire.

The attacks resumed early today with a half-dozen large explosions that rocked the Afghan capital of Kabul. The attacks were concentrated in the southeast of the city, which includes a historic fort used by the Taliban.

But even as the 10-day-old military campaign appeared to be routing Taliban forces, a strike that damaged a Red Cross warehouse in Kabul caused a major public relations problem. The Pentagon said the Red Cross warehouse was among several warehouses targeted because of their use by the Taliban as storage sites for military equipment. U.S. forces were unaware the Red Cross was using one or more of the warehouses, the Pentagon said. The storage facilities were hit by 1,000-pound bombs.

Meanwhile, fighters with the Northern Alliance are set to take the key northern city of Mazar-e Sharif, said Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. U.S. jets are pummeling the remnants of Taliban troops guarding that city as well as Kabul, he said.

But televised pictures of the two burning warehouses of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) were the most important and troubling news of the day, one U.S. official said. The bombing slightly injured one worker and destroyed about a third of the food, medicine, tents and blankets in storage, witnesses said.

Red Cross officials said the buildings' roofs were clearly marked with the Red Cross insignia. "It is definitely a civilian target. In addition to that, it is a clearly marked ICRC warehouse," said Robert Moni, head of the Red Cross' Kabul delegation, which has been evacuated to Pakistan.

Newbold said that the number of errant munitions is miniscule when measured against the more than 2,000 bombs and missiles dropped since the campaign began Oct. 7.

He said the air war over Afghanistan reached its highest intensity this week. On Monday, all four U.S. aircraft carriers in the region joined the fight by sending 90 strike fighters into battle. In addition, 10 land-based fighters and six to eight bombers patrolled Afghanistan, while Navy ships fired five cruise missiles.

The latest airborne entrants in the war were two AC-130 gunships, which flew over the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar on Monday to "chew up" a Taliban troop garrison and a political headquarters. The devastation was formidable, a Pentagon official said.

Tuesday's action was nearly as intense, Newbold said. A defense official said the AC-130s were back in action. "We're going to keep up the pressure on the terrorists and on the Taliban leadership," Newbold said. "It's going to be relentless."

Newbold showed reporters video footage of the destruction of armored vehicles at a Taliban training facility in Kandahar, surface-to-air missiles at a Kandahar airfield and a tank outside Mazar-e Sharif. "The combat power of the Taliban has been eviscerated," Newbold said.

The United States also made some progress on the diplomatic front. U.S. officials confirmed Tuesday that Iran has promised to assist U.S. pilots who might be forced down over Iranian territory, which runs along Afghanistan's western border.

U.S. diplomats held another meeting in Geneva last weekend -- the second since Sept. 11 -- to discuss a post-Taliban government with Iranian diplomats who share the Bush administration's antipathy for the Taliban.

A Pentagon official cautioned that it remains to be seen whether the pressure has moved the United States any closer to its main war aim: the dismantling of Osama bin Laden's al-Qa'eda terrorist network. That will take time, ground troops and considerable international support, a U.S. official said. That is why the Red Cross strike was so troubling, the official added.

Contributing: Barbara Slavin

GRAPHIC

U.S. gunships attack Taliban strongholds

The Pentagon said two U.S. propeller-driven gunships attacked the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar on Tuesday. It declined to specify which version of the AC-130 airplane was used. The latest is the AC-130U, which is part of the Air Force Special Operations Command based at Hurlburt Field in Florida. The AC-130U is designed to fly over the battlefield and blast targets with guns mounted on the side of the aircraft. AC-130 gunships have been used in Vietnam, Panama, the Gulf War, Somalia and the Balkans.

Armament

25 mm GAU-12 Gatling gun: Six-barrel gun capable of firing 1,800 rounds per minute.

40 mm L60 Bofors cannon: Can fire single shots or up to 120 rounds per minute of 2-pound projectiles.

105 mm M-102 Howitzer cannon: Fires up to 10 rounds per minute. Rounds usually 32.5-pound shells.

Defensive systems: Has system that releases chaff and flares to counter infrared-guided anti-aircraft missiles. Also has infrared heat shields under engines to mask engine heat sources from infrared-guided missiles. It is outfitted with radar to detect targets at long range and satellite-guided navigation systems

Builder: Lockheed/Boeing Corp.

Wingspan: 132 feet, 7 inches

Top speed: 374 mph

Flight ceiling: 33,000 feet

Range: 2,200 nautical miles

Crew: Up to 14, including pilots, navigators, engineers and gunners, depending on its mission.

GRAPHIC: GRAPHIC, B/W, Robert W. Ahrens, USA TODAY; Reporting by Dave Moniz, USA TODAY; Source: U.S. Air Force; GlobalSecurity.org; Associated Press; theaviationzone.com