[Zamastan]

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[/hr]Zamastan | World - IDU | Politics | Economy | Opinion

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The Tofino Times
Click Here to Visit The Tofino Times Website
Saturday, December 28th, 2019

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[/hr]VOL. XXXII .. Num. 6320 | In the News: ATTACK ON COALITION FORCES

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[color=#FF0000]BREAKING NEWS
COALITION FORCES AMBUSHED IN VULKARIA, 11 DEAD
Zamastanian and Legionite Forces Ambushed By M.L.F. Fighters En-Route to Vulkarian Base

Above: Zamastanian troops return fire as M.L.F. insurgents ambush a coalition convoy

8 Zamastanian and 3 Legionite soldiers are dead following a violent and sporadic ambush in Northwest Vulkaria by Malvarian Liberation Front fighters on Thursday afternoon. A contingent of 40 coalition member troops traveling in a convoy from the capital of Vulkar to a Vulkarian military outpost near Thunville in the nation's volatile northwest region, where the Vulkarian army has begun a new offensive against enemy forces. 30 Zamastanians and 10 Legionite soldiers were in the convoy, which was traveling on a rural, forested road to the outpost when they were ambushed. The attack occurred approximately 200 kilometers west of the country's capital, Vulkar.

A Zamastanian official told The Tofino Times that initial indications are the coalition forces were ambushed by up to 200 fighters who are thought to be affiliated with the M.L.F..

The ambush began on a heavily forested, isolated road after a Zamastanian armored vehicle was hit with an I.E.D., killing two of the soldiers inside. As the soldiers in the column disembarked from their vehicles, a Legionite vehicle flanking the rear of the column was disabled by rocket fire. Enemy fighters near completely surrounded the column of coalition forces, raining fire down on them. In the chaos of the surprise attack, the coalition troops took cover and returned fire from behind their vehicles. Two Zamastanians and a Legionite were killed as the convoy was completely at a standstill.

As the battle ensued, three Zamastanian troops and two Legionite soldiers rushed down an embankment on the side of the road, providing covering fire as the five remaining convoy vehicles maneuvered back behind the disabled Legionite vehicle. The five soldiers in the embankment were killed as enemy fighters overwhelmed their position, and an additional Zamastanian soldier was killed as they tried to retake the position. The entire firefight lasted nearly forty minutes. A Tofino Times corespondent who was traveling with the column was injured by shrapnel.

It is believed that the coalition forces killed around 80 enemy fighters, according to body-cam footage and heat signature cameras on board some of the armored vehicles.

Zamastanian Hespia Command, which oversees military operations in Hespia, issued a statement Saturday saying the six wounded Zamastanian service members were "evacuated in stable condition to Tivi Regional Medical Center in Vulkar."

A Legionas spokesperson said that three of their troops were also killed in the ambush and that another two were injured.

Officials told The Tofino Times that Vulkarian military helicopters evacuated the wounded Zamastanians and Legionites along with those killed in action while also providing covering fire.

There are about 2,000 Zamastanian troops in Vulkaria, and the Zamastanian military has maintained a presence in the south Hespian country for over 22 years, with small groups of Zamastanian Special Operations Forces advising local troops as they battle two terrorist groups, the M.L.F. and the V.N.A. Legionas also has kept 300 soldiers in the nation since 1999. Since the end of the Second War in Vulkaria, 32 Zamastanian and 4 Legionite soldiers have been killed, not including today's ambush.

"Vulkaria is obviously an important partner of ours, we have a deep relationship with them," President Foley Sakzi said several days ago following the Amstelveen Bombing. "Their stability is the world's stability. We are committed to that relationship, we believe that they are as well. In fact, I think it's a very good success story," he added. The President has not yet released a statement on the ambush.

The Zamastanian and Legionas militaries have largely played a supporting role, providing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets in support of Vulkarian forces. And while the troops largely play a supporting role, military leaders acknowledge the risks they face.

"Clearly there's risks for our forces in Vulkaria," the Legionas Minister of Defense, Patricia Anna-Marie, said while declining to discuss the specifics of Saturday's attack, citing "ongoing partnered operations."

"Any time we deploy full forces globally we look very hard at the enablers that need to be in place in order to provide security for them and that ranges from the ability to pull them out if they're injured to the ability to reinforce them at the point of a fight if they need reinforcement," she added.

"We obviously are looking into everything that happened," Minister Anna-Marie said, "and we are coordinating everything directly with Zamastanian officials. We profoundly send our condolences to the families of our brave troops and the Zamastanian troops as well. This is the largest loss of life in our operations in Vulkaria since 2005, and that is the same for the Zamastanians."

See full article here: https://zkcastor.wixsite.com/thetofinotimes