Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


           US Attacks Massive Al-Qaida Camps in Southern Afghanistan

   by VOA News

   The U.S. military official in charge of the U.S. war effort in
   Afghanistan says U.S. forces have attacked what are believed to be the
   largest al-Qaida training camps found in the course of the 14-year
   Afghan war.

   Army General John Campbell told The Washington Post in a report
   published Friday that some 160 al-Qaida operatives were reported killed
   in the attack, which involved dozens of American airstrikes and 200
   Special Operations forces.

   He said the operation that took place on or around October 11 hit
   training areas that covered an area of 80 square kilometers near
   Afghanistan's southern border with Pakistan. The facilities are
   believed to have existed for as long as a year.

   The operation took place just days before U.S. President Barack Obama
   announced plans to keep 9,800 troops in Afghanistan through the greater
   part of 2016 and some 5,500 troops in the area into 2017.

   Campbell said the training camps were in "a place where you would
   probably think you wouldn't have" al-Qaida operatives. The United
   States has long said the few traces of al-Qaida believed to be left in
   Afghanistan were located in several valleys in the eastern part of the
   country.

   The Washington Post said the new information "has raised questions
   about the effectiveness of the U.S. military to find and strike the
   militants" in Afghanistan, 14 years after the September 11, 2001
   attacks on the United States that led to the U.S. military's attacks on
   Afghan-based militants.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/us-afghanistan/3030890.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/us-afghanistan/3030890.html