Blasting the Taliban—and Anyone Else in the Way
A war photo a day #14
Uncategorized August 19, 2013 .wombatman1
Blasting the Taliban—and Anyone Else in the Way
A war photo a day #14
Eight years. Seven wars. More death and destruction than I care to recount. I’ve been covering armed conflict since 2005. Every battlefield has its stories … and its unforgettable images. Follow me through my career at war, one jarring, haunting or sublime photo a day until I run out.
In the summer of 2007 the Taliban launched an all-out assault on Afghan, Dutch and Australian troops in Uruzgan province, in the country’s restive south. A Taliban suicide bomber struck a convoy, killing 11 Afghan children and a 20-year-old Dutch soldier.
The Dutch hit back with gunship helicopters, F-16 jets and 155-millimeter howitzers. I photographed the gun crews blasting Taliban positions from 20 miles away. When the smoke cleared more than 100 people lay dead — most of them civilians caught in the artillery and air barrage.