SHOTLIST: LONG TIENG, LAOS (AUG. 24, 2025) (ANADOLU - ACCESS ALL) 1. VARIOUS OF LONG TIENG TOWN IN CENTRAL LAOS 2. VARIOUS SHOTS OF DAILY LIFE OF LOCAL RESIDENTS 3. VARIOUS OF ABANDONED MILITARY VEHICLES AND STRUCTURES IN AREA 4. VARIOUS OF BUILDINGS AND HILLS IN AREA LONG TIENG, LAOS - AUG. 24: Long Tieng, a remote town in the highlands of central Laos, was once known as “the most secret place on earth.” During the Vietnam War, the site hosted a covert US military base that played a key role in bombing campaigns and logistical operations across Southeast Asia. Backed by the CIA and the Hmong “Secret Army,” Long Tieng served as a hub for supply missions, air rescues and operations against communist forces along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The United States dropped an estimated 2 million tons of bombs on Laos and 2.7 million tons on Cambodia, making both countries among the most heavily bombed per capita in history. After the war, many Hmong fighters and others who had collaborated with American forces fled. The base has remained closed ever since. Today, Long Tieng is a quiet and isolated town, carrying the memory of its secret past. The Vietnam War The Vietnam War, which lasted from 1955 to 1975, also turned Laos into a critical but undeclared battlefield. The United States carried out extensive bombing campaigns without a formal declaration of war, later described as the “Secret War.” The CIA’s alliance with Hmong fighters transformed Long Tieng into a central operational hub against North Vietnamese forces moving along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Reporting by Magdalena Chodownik / Writing by Mehmet Taha Mazi