BADULA QULP, Afghanistan – Two Afghan men on a motorcycle approached a makeshift camp of NATO and Afghan troops and unloaded a bundle of blankets. American soldiers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division went into combat mode, throwing on flak vests and helmets and grabbing their rifles. They feared it was a ruse – perhaps a suicide bomber moving in for the kill.
The Afghans raised their robes to show they had no weapons, and unwrapped the bundle. Inside was 7-year-old Sayd Rahman, shot in the chest near Marjah, where U.S. Marines are trying to clear out a bastion of insurgency in one of the biggest operations since the ouster of the Taliban in 2001.
BADULA QULP, Afghanistan – Two Afghan men on a motorcycle approached a makeshift camp of NATO and Afghan troops and unloaded a bundle of blankets. American soldiers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division went into combat mode, throwing on flak vests and helmets and grabbing their rifles. They feared it was a ruse – perhaps a suicide bomber moving in for the kill.
The Afghans raised their robes to show they had no weapons, and unwrapped the bundle. Inside was 7-year-old Sayd Rahman, shot in the chest near Marjah, where U.S. Marines are trying to clear out a bastion of insurgency in one of the biggest operations since the ouster of the Taliban in 2001.
