Shotlist
Truck with mounted multiple rocket launcher parking for a firing position
Mid shot of soldiers carrying rockets
Close up of man loading rockets into launcher
Wide shot man loading rockets into launcher
Wide shot of rockets being fired
Wide shot of destroyed bridge over river, soldier kneeling and watching
Group of soldiers standing outside ruined building
Close up soldier talking on walkie-talkie
Man firing mortar shell
Another soldiers firing mortar shell
Close up man watching in the distance, pan to left another man watching the target area
Long shot of smoke billowing where shell exploded
People drinking tea in the tent pan to right
Mid shot man weighing wheat
Two men counting money
Close up money being counted
Man cooking food on the stove
Panoramic view of front line
Soldiers climbing on the hill
Fortified tank firing shell
Soldiers walking on the hill
Another fortified and camouflaged tank firing
Pan to left of front line and hills
Tank firing
Soldiers on the tank looking in the distance
Another tank firing
Soldiers seating inn the top of the tank
Soldiers firing two barreled anti aircraft gun
Various of soldiers on the tank
Storyline
Fighters from the rebel Northern Alliance continued to shell pro Taliban forces around the Talokan region of Northern Afghanistan Sunday. There was no evidence of any ground gained. Instead rebels used fixed gun emplacements made from ex-Soviet tanks protected by sandbags and earthworks to shell what they believed to be Taliban positions on neighbouring hills.
In between the rocket and shell salvos the fighters relaxed and sipped tea in large tents, as well as trading food. Large mortars and anti-aircraft cannon were also in evidence among the ragtag force's arsenal, as well as a rocket launcher mounted on the back of a truck, a destructive but unpredictable weapon made famous during World War Two and then dubbed a "Stalin's Organ". Northern Alliance fighters scattered when the last rocket in the weapon failed to fire, fearful that the projectile would blow up in the launcher, but it did eventually fire.
US led forces, when they eventually take action against the Taliban and Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network will be unlikely to face problems with such outmoded weapons. The US Army invariably fights with the latest high tech weaponry and electronic command and control systems. But the fighters of the Northern Alliance do have advantages over the US forces who may soon become their allies. They know the country well, and US intelligence in the region is poor and often relies on go-betweens such as Pakistan and now possibly Russia.
Military personnel who aided the Mujihadeen during their struggle against Soviet occupation say the water in the region is almost undrinkable for Westerners, and the terrain favours low tech guerilla forces with a minimum of equipment, not the heavy paraphernalia which typifies modern NATO-type forces. Many of the country's passes are impassable to vehicles, and many of the roads through its valley floors are ideal ambush spots, littered with destroyed tanks and APCs. If a US led force is to attempt to gain territory in this land the fighters of the Northern Alliance and their Soviet-era weapons may prove vital.