MILITARY OLYMPICS AFRICOM chief meets Biles says she US women with ‘Lightning Brigade’ in will compete in fall to Canada contested area of Somalia balance beam in semifinals Page 3 Gymnastics, Page 22 Soccer, Page 23 Exercise across 17 time zones to show US reach to Russia, China ›› Page 6 stripes.com Volume 80 Edition 77 ©SS 2021 TUESDAY,AUGUST 3, 2021 50¢/Free to Deployed Areas AFGHANISTAN EUROPE Taliban into major cities for first time in 20 years BY SUSANNAH GEORGE The Washington Post KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — The Taliban are ramping up pres- sure on some of Afghanistan’s largest cities, striking busy transit hubs and pushing front lines deep into urban areas for the first time since the militants were over- thrown nearly two decades ago. Taliban fighters launched rock- ets Saturday at airports in Kanda- har and Herat, two of the coun- try’s largest cities and busiest eco- nomic centers. The attacks dis- rupted commercial travel, though flights in and out of Herat subse- quently resumed. “There was a large blast and the whole room started shaking,” said Massoud Ahmad Pashtun, the chief of Kandahar airport, who was present at the time of the at- tack. He said three rockets landed within seconds of each other and ‘I got lucky’ damaged one of the runways. The attacks mark a potential turning point in the Afghan con- flict. Previously, clashes were JENNIFER H. SVAN/Stars and Stripes largely confined to the country’s Senior Airman Calixto Rodriguez, left, and Airman Kyle Koury try to break apart debris by the Nims River in Rittersdorf, Germany, on Saturday. rural areas or smaller cities con- More than two dozen airmen from Spangdahlem Air Base volunteered to help clean in the aftermath of severe flooding in western Germany. SEE TALIBAN ON PAGE 5 RELATED US airmen who survived catastrophic floods help German villages recover ■ US will allow more BY JENNIFER H. SVAN termath of Europe’s severe flooding last and anything else in its path in the worst flood- AND MARCUS KLOECKNER month. ing longtime residents say they have ever seen. Afghans to apply for Stars and Stripes Rittersdorf was spared the deaths and the Village leaders last week reached out to the RITTERSDORF, Germany — The Nims worst of the destruction caused by the floods, U.S. military community, asking for help in asylum amid violence River flows through the heart of this village in which killed about 180 people in western Ger- cleaning up debris still scattered in the basin. ■ the rural Eifel region, skirting a moated castle many and left thousands homeless. “We know that they are (our) friends in hard Ghani seeks more that has stood since medieval times. But a water line above the castle’s first-floor times,” Otmar Koch, the deputy mayor of Rit- protection for cities On Saturday, the waterlogged stone fortress windows shows where the Nims crested at over tersdorf, said of the Americans. “We need a lot was the meeting point for more than two dozen 6 feet on July 14 and 15, pouring into the castle of help here.” as Taliban advance U.S. military personnel, who volunteered to and homes along the banks. Page 5 help the town of about 1,400 clean up in the af- The river uprooted trees, fences, street signs SEE LUCKY ON PAGE 3 PAGE 2 • STARS AND STRIPES • Tuesday, August 3, 2021 BUSINESS/WEATHER Pharmaceutical plant idled, costing 1.5K jobs EXCHANGE RATES Military rates South Korea (Won) 1,151.41 Associated Press the generic drug company Mylan, groups called on President Joe Bi- Switzerland (Franc) 0.9046 Euro costs (Aug. 3) $1.16 Thailand (Baht) 32.94 CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A West which merged with Upjohn last den on July 21 to intervene in the Dollar buys (Aug. 3) 0.8200 Turkey (New Lira) 8.3540 British pound (Aug. 3) $1.36 Virginia pharmaceutical plant that year to form the new company. Via- company’s plan. A new campaign Japanese yen (Aug. 3) 107.00 (Military exchange rates are those available employed nearly 1,500 people has tris, which announced it would led by Our Revolution, a political South Korean won (Aug. 3) 1,124.00 to customers at military banking facilities in the Commercial rates country of issuance for Japan, South Korea, Ger­ been idled despite a last-ditch at- slash 20% of its workforce world- nonprofit organization founded by many, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Bahrain (Dinar) 0.3770 For nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., pur­ tempt by labor and advocacy wide, is now one of the world’s dom- Bernie Sanders, had urged Biden to Britain (Pound) 1.3914 chasing British pounds in Germany), check with Canada (Dollar) 1.2458 your local military banking facility. Commercial groups to keep it open. inant manufacturers in the generics use the Defense Production Act to China (Yuan) 6.4614 rates are interbank rates provided for reference industry. stop the closure and convene a task Denmark (Krone) 6.2590 Time ran out Saturday for work- Egypt (Pound) 15.7033 when buying currency. All figures are foreign ers at the former Mylan pharma- The moves left workers scram- force to determine how the plant Euro 0.8414 currencies to one dollar, except for the British Hong Kong (Dollar) 7.7730 pound, which is represented in dollars­to­ ceuticals plant in Morgantown, the bling to find new jobs as the major might continue producing pharma- Hungary (Forint) 299.99 pound, and the euro, which is dollars­to­euro.) Israel (Shekel) 3.2246 Charleston Gazette-Mail reported. employer left West Virginia, a state ceutical or medical goods. Japan (Yen) 109.41 INTEREST RATES Drugmaker Viatris Inc. an- that is often trying to lure new com- The White House has not respon- Kuwait (Dinar) 0.3004 Norway (Krone) 8.7851 Prime rate 3.25 nounced in December that it would panies to uplift its stagnant econo- ded publicly to the closure or the Philippines (Peso) 49.83 Interest Rates Discount rate 0.75 Poland (Zloty) 3.83 Federal funds market rate 0.09 lay off workers at the end of July. my. group’s letter, the Gazette-Mail re- Saudi Arabia (Riyal) 3.7501 3­month bill 0.06 The plant was formerly operated by Dozens of labor and advocacy ported. Singapore (Dollar) 1.3520 30­year bond 1.89 WEATHER OUTLOOK TUESDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST TUESDAY IN EUROPE WEDNESDAY IN THE PACIFIC Misawa 78/73 Kabul Seoul 92/57 86/76 Baghdad 112/80 Drawsko Osan Tokyo Kandahar 89/75 87/73 Mildenhall/ Pomorskie Busan 98/67 Lakenheath 66/55 68/53 83/79 Iwakuni Kuwait City 82/78 Bahrain Brussels Zagan Sasebo Guam 111/88 99/93 Ramstein 68/57 86/78 65/57 66/53 84/81 Riyadh Lajes, Stuttgart 109/80 Doha Azores Pápa 72/69 67/54 114/91 Aviano/ 76/58 Vicenza 73/58 Naples 83/69 Okinawa Morón 84/81 95/64 Sigonella Rota 104/75 The weather is provided by the Djibouti 79/62 Souda Bay American Forces Network Weather Center, 96/86 87/80 2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. TODAY IN STRIPES American Roundup ...... 11 Classified .................... 13 Comics .........................15 Crossword ................... 15 Faces .......................... 14 Opinion ........................ 16 Sports .................... 17-24 Tuesday, August 3, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 3 MILITARY AFRICOM head quietly visits Somalia base BY JOHN VANDIVER The U.S. military had been Stars and Stripes making improvements to the base, STUTTGART, Germany — The including expanding the airfield. U.S. military’s top commander for The U.S. had maintained a regu- Africa made a quiet visit to a re- lar presence at Baledogle until Ja- mote base in Somalia on a recent nuary, when former President tour through the region, meeting Donald Trump ordered American with commandos in a contested forces out of the country. area where American special op- Since then, the U.S. has sent erators once came under fire. troops to Somalia on a rotational U.S. Africa Command con- basis. firmed that Gen. Stephen Towns- AFRICOM on Friday issued a end was at the Baledogle Military statement highlighting Towns- Airfield last week to meet with So- end’s tour through East Africa, malia’s advanced infantry unit, but made no public mention of the known as the Danab “Lightning Baledogle meeting with Danab Brigade,” which the United States troops, which was highlighted on has focused on developing over social media by Somalia’s mili- the past several years. tary. The visit came as U.S. forces re- Townsend, whose five-day trip new airstrikes against al-Shabab ended Friday, said AFRICOM re- militants after a six-month pause. mains committed to battling mil- On Sunday, the U.S. launched itants and working with regional its third airstrike in two weeks, in partners such as Kenya. MARCUS KLOECKNER/Stars and Stripes support of Danab and other Soma- “In East Africa, we work along- A group of volunteers help clean up the town of Rittersdorf, Germany, on Saturday. li troops that had come under at- side Kenyan forces to fight al-Sha- tack, Voice of America reported. baab, maintain awareness in the AFRICOM did not elaborate on western Indian Ocean and assure Lucky: Service members assist neighboring the purpose of Townsend’s visit to regional security,” Townsend said Baledogle, home to the Danab bri- in a statement. gade’s headquarters, but it is a po- “We are grateful for our rela- German communities clean up after floods tentially risky stopping point giv- tionship with Kenya, which will en the security situation in south- only continue to grow as we move FROM PAGE 1 went there, I told everybody that I less at this point.” ern Somalia.