US soldiers fighting Taliban in Kandahar province

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• published: 28 Jul 2015
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SHOTLIST NOTE: THIS MATERIAL WAS FILMED BY A CAMERAMAN EMBEDDED WITH US TROOPS 1. US soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division climbing over wall at Combat Outpost Nolen 2. Close shot, soldier aiming gun 3. Soldier behind wall with gun 4. Soldier firing gun 5. Various, soldiers behind wall AUDIO: Helicopter 6. Soldiers behind wall relaying instructions 7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Corbin Holly, US corporal, 101st Airborne Division "Usually they attack between 16 and 20 hundred (local time), so you see very few people try to take showers then. No one wants to get caught in the shower." 8. SOUNDBITE: (English) Matthew Kendell, US Sergeant, 101st Airborne Division "That was probably the most terrifying moment of my life." (drinks from water bottle) 9. Soldiers behind wall STORYLINE: As international diplomats met for a one day conference on the future of Afghanistan in the nation's capital Kabul on Tuesday, US forces continued to fight the Taliban in Operation Enduring Freedom. US Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division at Combat Outpost Nolen, in the Kandahar Province's Arghandab Valley are in combat with Taliban forces on a daily basis. The Arghandab valley is key because it is a major transit route for Taliban fighters into Kandahar city - where they launch quick strike bombings and assassinations before retreating back Corporal Corbin Holly, from Austin, Texas, commented that the Taliban would usually attack between 1600 and 2000 hours, and that when most US troops avoided taking showers. Up to Friday, 16 July, 2010, at least 1,099 members of the US military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the US invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to an Associated Press count. According to the US Defence Department at least 865 military personnel have died in the Afghan region as a result of hostile action. The emphasis will change as duties switch from direct action to a role training Afghan security forces but casualties among the NATO forces in Afghanistan are expected to continue for some time. As men of the 101st Airborne Division fought off the latest Taliban attack, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, was addressing an international conference in Kabul. He reaffirmed his commitment for Afghan police and soldiers to take charge of security nationwide by 2014 and urged his international backers to distribute more of their development aid through the government. Since the 2001 US-led invasion that toppled the Taliban, 77 percent of the 29 (b) billion US dollars in international aid spent in Afghanistan has been disbursed on projects with little or no input from the government, according to the Afghan Finance Ministry. That figure does not include funds for the training of security forces. Many donor countries, and particularly the US, have been reluctant to give an Afghan government infamous for corruption and bloated bureaucracy authority over funds - and so distribute most of their aid through international development groups or contractors. This has led to criticism that some spending has been badly targeted. The conference in Kabul discussed how Afghan security forces are on track to reach a goal of 171,600 police and 134-thousand soldiers by October 2011, but worries persist about their professionalism. Meanwhile NATO reported on Tuesday that two American civilians and two Afghan soldiers were killed in a shooting on a northern Afghan military base. An Afghan soldier who trained others at the base outside Mazar-e-Sharif started shooting during a weapons exercise, the international military coalition said in a statement. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/0f8d11295d6cb31e2f1a6d9eae4c28f4 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork