2003 Lejay firefight

A skirmish occurred on the morning of February 10 2003 outside of Lejay, a small village in the northern, mountainous part of Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The village is in the valley the Baghran River, and one of the few highways in Afghanistan passes through it.American intelligence analysts assert that the village is the focus of the Opium Trade.

Vehicles approaching the village report being fired on. In response American forces mobilized hundreds of troops to comb the country surrounding the village in Operation Eagle Fury. The Operation mobilized dozens of coalition warplanes.

Differing accounts of the skirmish

Colonel Roger King, a Department of Defense spokesman in Bagram offered daily briefings on the initial skirmish, and the on Eagle Fury.

In 2004 the Summary of Evidence memos prepared for the Combatant Status Review Tribunals of the captives apprehended following the initial shooting incident offered a different account.

Colonel King's 2003 account

According to Colonel King:
*An ambush occurred around dawn on February 10 2003.cite news
url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B02E3DE163AF931A25751C0A9659C8B63
title=Ambushed In Afghanistan, G.I.'s Call In Airstrikes
publisher=New York Times
author=Carlotta Gall
date=February 12 2003
accessdate=2008-04-30
quote=] cite news
url=http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/12/international/asia/12CND-BATT.html?ex=1174276800&en=c646fb73b9c359d2&ei=5070
title=Afghans Report 17 Civilian Deaths in U.S.-Led Bombing
date=Tuesday February 12, 2003
accessdate=2007-03-16] cite news
date=February 12 2003
publisher=Sydney Morning Herald
url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/02/11/1044927601223.html
title=Coalition warplanes bomb Afghan caves after ambush
accessdate=2007-03-17] cite news
url=http://www.intellnet.org/news/2003/02/13/16751-1.html
publisher=Reuters
title=Afghans Say More Civilians Die in U.S.-Led Raids
date=February 13 2003
author=Mirwais Afghan
accessdate=2007-02-16] cite news
url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9902E2DE153DF935A15757C0A9659C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all
title=In Afghanistan, Violence Stalls Renewal Effort
publisher=New York Times
author=Carlotta Gall
date=April 26 2003
accessdate=2008-04-30
quote=]
*American forces saw five shooters, who retreated into nearby caves, when the forces on the ground called in air support.

The Summary of Evidence memos prepared for the villagers who were sent to Guantanamo, on the other hand:
* Said that the American vehicles were fired on at around 10:30 am.
* That American forces saw the shooters escape in a white car.
* That the American forces were not on a routine patrol, that they had set out to capture warlord Raes Abdul Wahed, described as the Taliban District Commander.cite web
url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_arb/000700-000783.pdf#1
title=Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- Mohammed, Alif
publisher=United States Department of Defense
author=OARDEC
date=November 4 2004
accessdate=2007-10-05
pages=page 1]

References