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U.S. Captures 27 Taliban, Al-Qaeda Soldiers in Raid
Friday, January 25, 2002
By George Edmonson
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

"It's likely that they are people who are not simply foot soldiers."

WASHINGTON
U.S. forces in Afghanistan, in one of the fiercest clashes to date involving Americans, captured 27 Taliban and Al-Qaeda members in a raid near Kandahar. One American soldier was wounded.

An unspecified number of Taliban and Al-Qaeda members were killed in the firefight that took place Wednesday about 3 p.m. EST (early Thursday morning, local time), and a "large cache of weapons and ammunition was also destroyed," Central Command in Tampa reported Thursday.

"I can't go into any more detail at this time because we still have our eyes on the targets there, and there is a potential for further action," Gen. Richard Myers said Thursday at a Pentagon news briefing.

The U.S. Army identified the wounded man as Staff Sgt. James Wilson Jr. of Florida, a member of the 5th Special Forces Group. He was shot in the ankle, and the injury was not life-threatening, according to Central Command, which directs the war in Afghanistan. Wilson was in stable condition in a hospital in the area, officials said.
(More: Palm Beach Post News Source)
2002 © Palm Beach Post.

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