Mission Lassie AAR

Early in the morning, and hour before dusk a helicopter landed in the hills NE of the target compounds, two ODA teams silently made their way down to the edge of the wadi floor.  The Spooky high overhead spotted four pickets and one wandering dog.  The ODA moved in, a few suppressed shots and the two northern pickets went down.  The eastern team moved forward to the dying picket on the top of a haystack and ensured he was not getting up.

  So far, so good for the ODA.  Then luck turned.  The dog trottered northward, and either smelling the strange smelling ODA or the blood from the the dying picket.  Whatever the cause, the dog started barking.

The ODA shot at the dog it spun and went down, but what soon up and barking again.  The ODA team realizing surprise was lost, ran to the wall of the nearest compound and blasted through the outer wall with breaching charges.

On the roof of one house in the compound appeared a groggy group of insurgents, following a prolonged firefight the five insurgents were soon dispatched.  Meanwhile the sniper team moved to the compounds entry and realized the nearby haystack hid a T-72.

In the following chaos, insurgents spilled from the compound houses, four tank crewmen tried to reach their tank, but were shot down, though one of the ODA lost his life in the ensuing firefight.  From a room adjacent to the breaching team burst a two men, the scrambled onto the roof.  The Spooky flying above shouted warning, one of the men seemed to be carrying a SAM.  The breaching team pursued them onto the roof and dispatched them in a one sided melee.

With dawn breaking the Spooky left its orbit, but not before destroying a house to the SW of the compounds.  A Chinook swept in and landed near the first compound, a platoon of French soldiers quickly debussed.  The co-pilot spotted four men making their way south.  The platoon commander quickly ordered the sniper team to the nose of the Chinook.  As the targets flittered between the trees the snipers fired and three men went down.  The fourth dove for cover.  The sniper reported that two of the men were dressed in uniforms, were these the prisoners?

The ODA team headed south and found two dead insurgents and two US serviceman, both with no injuries.

US ODA team recover the two prisoners which were be dragged south by their guards (Figures: Khurusan and Peter Pig)

The French then moved to clear the buildings across the dry wadi bed.  The second helicopter landed and debouched the US Army platoon, the comrades of the four missing serviceman.

The gate way in the north compound on the western line of compounds swung open and intense and accurate fire poured into the advancing French.  In soon became apparent these men were not the run-of-the-mill insurgents, and later when they were captured (three of them seriously wounded) they were found to be foreign special forces

Foreign Special Forces open fire on French

Realising the prisoners had been split up the UN forces now pushed hard to rescue the remaining two prisoners. 

The US Army moved in from the north, the French and ODA from the east.  The foreign special force team was eventually neutralised, but not before they inflicted heavy losses on the French.

The US Army breached the northern wall but fell under heavy fire from within the breach, and in the ensuing close struggle the insurgents captured two of the US survivors.  Things were turning bad. 

In the middle compound the French assaulted a room, losing a man, but rescuing two of the POWs.

Meanwhile in the north the US poured immense fire into the northern building, the insurgents weathered the fire for a long time, but soon they begin to fall.  From the loud shouting inside the room the US realized that they may have cornered Akhbar.   After a concerted fusillade from the north and east the ODA team charged in, finding a bloodbath.  They rescued the two recent soldiers grabbed by the insurgents, and found a wounded man.  The ODA team leader pulled a dice from his pocket and looked at the 1.  AKHBAR.  They had captured the mastermind behind the SS Eclipse terrorist attack.

The final UN fire and unit dispositions

 In the end, the attack had rescued the four prisoners, saved two further captive US soldiers and had captured Akhbar.  What is more, they captured a T-72, which is believed to originate in Paktia, and captured a team of foreign special force operatives.  A Grinch shoulder fired SAM was also discovered.  The operation was more than 100% successful.  Though the revelations had disturbing consequences.

But, the operation had been costly

ODA: 1KIA, 1 Minor Wounded

US Army: 2KIA, 1 Minor Wounded

French: 1KIA, 4 Seriously Wounded, 2 Lightly Wounded

All Minor Wounds were treated at the FOB and PB
            All Seriously wounded for evacuated to Qatar
           The insurgents in Azmakassar change from 4,3,3 to 6,4,3