A US F-16 was struck by enemy fire in eastern Afghanistan, military officials have confirmed to AFP, in a rare instance of an advanced fighter jet coming under a Taliban-claimed attack. The multi-million dollar jet sustained significant damage, forcing it to jettison its fuel tanks and munitions before returning to base, officials said.
The attack occurred last Tuesday in the Sayid Karam district of eastern Paktia province, much of which is under control of the Taliban, who have been waging an insurgency against US-led NATO forces and government troops since they were forced from power in 2001. The militant group claimed they had downed the jet in a statement posted on Twitter that evening, but when contacted for comment, the US military initially said it had no “operational reporting to support the Taliban claims”.Photographs of the site obtained by AFP and seen by J. Chacko, an open-source military analyst based in London, indicated the jet had lost two “drop-tanks” — fuel tanks used to extend flight time — an air-to-ground missile, and two other unguided bombs. Afghans have successfully been resisting foreign attack and occupation of their homeland since 2001. The NATO orcoalition forces, led by a super power, used all sorts of weapons in their arsenal to crush the resistance movement but failed to suppress it. People of Afghanistan have been suffering losses and resistance forces carrying out reprisal attacks but it is, perhaps, for the first time that a fighter jet was successfully targeted. This adds a new dimension to the on-going war in Afghanistan and speaks volumes about ability of Taliban to fight back aggression. Recent successes of Taliban in Kunduz and some other important regions of Afghanistan are also a stark reminder that the ground situation is quite different than the one being painted by the United States. Afghan history is replete with instances in which they forced the enemy to leave their homeland but despite all this the United States is not ready to learn the lesson, which was evident from recentannouncement of President Obama to extend stay of the US troops in the occupied country. The decision has infuriated Afghans further who were expecting the foreign troops, who played havoc with them, to leave their country. However, extension of the stay has created more confusion about future of Afghanistan and that is why we are seeing renewed intensity in fighting by Taliban, who are now convinced that there is no solution of the problem than fighting back the occupation forces. The United States must realize that complete exit of the NATO forces is the only solution of the Afghanproblem as presence of foreign troops on Afghan soil is the fundamental cause of extremism and terrorism. In his speech to the UN General Assembly, President Obama frankly acknowledged that there was no military solution to problems but one fails to understand why he is repeating the mistake in Afghanistan.
pk.shafaqna.com
