Col Abdul Jabbar, CO 207 Commandos and his Sgt Major.

By Oliver North

The first rounds were fired at the approaching commandos shortly after 2:30. By the time the sun came up, the 207th Afghan commando battalion and their U.S. Special operations command advisers had engaged in an hours-long running gunfight and killed a senior Taliban leader and at least 20 of his fighters.

The Afghan-American force also destroyed a major terrorist arms and explosives storage depot, detained a half-dozen Taliban suspects and confiscated I.E.D.-making materials, weapons, ammunition, communications equipment and thousands of dollars in cash. All of this was captured by our FOX News, “War Stories,” cameras.

Col Jabbar preparing for the Shurra.

As the commandos withdrew from the objective shortly after dawn, they evacuated a woman and her child who had been wounded in the crossfire and sent them to a coalition hospital for treatment. Despite one U.S. Special operator wounded in the engagement, Lieutenant Colonel Abdul Jabbar, commanding officer of the Afghan commando battalion and the U.S. Special forces officers on scene describe last night’s capture/kill mission as a significant success in the effort to bring security and stability to Herat province. They are right – and here is why:

Yesterday morning August 21st, American and Afghan medical personnel treated more than 200 civilian patients at a nearby clinic, recently completed by the U.S. Special forces. The effect these twice-a-week medical/civil affairs programs is crucial good-will within the civilian populace.

The Shurra - a town-hall meeting of tribal and village elders.

Two hours after the clinic closed, Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Jabbar hosted a shurra – or meeting – with more than 50 village chiefs and tribal elders. At the gathering LTC Jabbar and the American Special operations officers asked the local leaders for help in driving the Taliban out of the area. They got it.

Information provided after the meeting accurately pinpointed a Taliban safe-house and the identities of those involved in terror activities. The commandos and a highly specialized U.S. Army-Marine Special operations team began planning immediately for a night-time capture/kill mission. Less than eight hours later, the operation, supported by American manned and un-manned aircraft was underway – and our FOX News cameras were there.

Afghan Commandos after a mission.

Bottom line:

1. The combined effect of an ambitious civil affairs program, and interaction with local leaders yields credible intelligence that can be rapidly exploited. Winning “hearts and minds” is not a cliché.

2. An effective Afghan commando strike unit, trained, advised and supported by the joint special operations task force, is devastating to the Taliban.

3. At the end of the day all the enemy can do is make false propaganda claims – that the local population knows are untrue.

At the foothills of the Hindu Kush

Cameraman Chris Jackson tapes War Stories