"The only way these men could have survived as guerrillas would have been to abandon their defenseless dependents and move in small bands to remote mountain outposts."

By 1863 however they had regrouped around the mountain outpost of Malka.

The western town of Talas and the mountain outpost of Naryn both have their charms.

A "significant number" of Americans, he said, would be stationed at mountain outposts with the Kurds to help guarantee an orderly distribution.

The rebels at this mountain outpost appear to be in good health and amply supplied.

The assault was premeditated, "irresponsible" and deliberate against two mountain outposts known to Nato and US forces.

Taliban shells rocketed past this rugged mountain outpost today, and while all the troops dived for cover, Commander Abdul Fatah did not even flinch.

Almost nightly, CH-47 Chinook helicopters ferry backpack-toting commandos to mountain outposts.

They had come down from the Turkish mountain outpost of Yekmal, and were headed for Batula, 25 miles east of Zakho.

The incident took place less than one week after Islamabad accused Indian forces of trying to capture a mountain outpost along the cease-fire line that divides the disputed region.