On the Pakistani border

An attack on a US combat outpost killed 9 men in Kunar province, Afghanistan. Kunar province is in the northeastern corner of Afghanistan on the Pakistani border. It is predominantly Pashtun, and has been called Pashtunistan. CNN reports that:

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Though details of the attack were sparse, an earlier statement from ISAF said Afghan and ISAF soldiers were involved in “heavy fighting” with insurgents at a command outpost in Kunar province.

“Insurgents have been firing at the [command outpost] with small arms, machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars, using homes, shops and the mosque in the village of Wanat for cover,” according to the statement.

ISAF and Afghan soldiers, backed by air support, responded with small arms, machine guns, mortars and artillery, the statement said.

The village of Wanat, according to the weather site Falling Rain is located at Lat (DMS) 35° 3′ 8N Long (DMS) 70° 54′ 26E at an altitude of 1282 meters — about 4,200 feet. Google maps shows it to be up a narrow valley surrounded by peaks a 1,000 feet higher on three sides, some of the surrounding high ground is less than a mile away. If this were the true situation, it would explain how RPGs and mortars might be effective against the outpost. This is all speculation based on map reading. We should wait for more news before drawing any further conclusions.


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