11 NATO troops killed in 2 days in Afghanistan

U.S. soldier killed in roadside bombing on a convoy in western Afghanistan Follows deaths of 7 Americans, 2 Canadians, 1 Briton in separate incidents Latest deaths come as U.S. forces ratchet up fight against Taliban

updated 11:26 a.m. EDT, Tue July 7, 2009

KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) --

International troops in Afghanistan endured another deadly attack Tuesday, a day after 10 NATO-led troops were killed in that country.

A U.S. coalition service member "died as a result of injuries" on Tuesday afternoon in a roadside bombing attack on a convoy in western Afghanistan, the U.S. military said.

This follows 10 NATO-led deaths on Monday, the highest single-day total in Afghanistan in nearly a year, according to NATO and U.S.-led coalition numbers.

Seven Americans, two Canadians and one Briton died in four separate incidents Monday.

On August 18, 2008, 10 French soldiers were killed when about 100 Taliban fighters attacked a patrol in Kabul Province, and a British soldier was killed in southern Afghanistan when Taliban fighters attacked a patrol with a roadside bomb.

A month before that, 10 American troops were killed in two separate incidents on July 13, 2008.

The latest deaths came as U.S. troops cranked up their fight against Taliban fighters, a push that includes a major Marine-led offensive against the Taliban fighters in the southern province of Helmand.

Roadside bombs Monday killed four Americans in the northern province of Kunduz and two in southern Afghanistan, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said.

A seventh American died in an insurgent attack in eastern Afghanistan, ISAF confirmed.

Two Canadian air crew members and a British soldier were killed when a helicopter crashed during takeoff in Zabul province, the Canadian and British defense ministries said.

Afghans say Taliban have left Helmand, perhaps to fight another day

By Nancy A. Youssef, Mcclatchy Newspapers –

Tue Jul 7, 2009, 5:07 pm ET

KABUL, Afghanistan —

Taliban fighters and their commanders have escaped the Marines' big offensive in Afghanistan's Helmand province and moved into areas to the west and north, prompting fears that the U.S. effort has just moved the Taliban problem elsewhere, Afghan defense officials have told McClatchy .

The movement of the Taliban into those areas has prompted complaints from German and Italian commanders, whose troops operate there, and have prompted questions about whether the United States has enough troops to pursue the Taliban while at the same time carrying out Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal's plan to "clear, hold and build" in areas wrested from Taliban control.

Last week, National Security Adviser James L. Jones told McClatchy that no additional troops would be sent to Afghanistan this year, even as some NATO nations threaten to draw down their presence. Jones' comments raised the ire of commanders here, who asked why the administration asked them to conduct a 60-day strategy review if such a major decision already has been made.

Violence here is at its highest levels since the Taliban fell in 2001. Even with the addition of 17,500 troops that President Barack Obama has ordered to Afghanistan , commanders fear they won't have enough troops to clear large swaths of the country and then hold them.

Since the Marines began their offensive on Thursday, Taliban fighters have moved to northern Helmand province near Baghran, an area controlled by German forces, and the eastern edge of Farah province, largely under Italy's control, said Gen. Zahir Azami , the Afghan Ministry of Defense spokesman.

In some cases, Taliban fighters donned burqas and held children's hands to pass as women to get out of the Helmand River Valley , said Brig. Gen. Mahaiddin Ghori, the Afghan army commander in Helmand. U.S. and Afghan military officers said that in many cases, fighters hurriedly left roadside explosives as they fled, targeting the forces. So far, one Marine and one Afghan soldier have been killed in the operation, both by explosives.

Afghan defense officials said they believe the Taliban fighters stayed in the country and did not travel to nearby Pakistan , where they often take refuge, because they believe they can wait out the latest operation, even as U.S. officials have stressed that once they clear an area they will stay until the security situation has stabilized.

"They want to carry on fighting. They don't want to escape during the summer. This is the height of fighting season," said Azami.

The offensive, called Operation Khanjar, or "Strike of the Sword," includes roughly 4,000 Marines and 750 Afghan security forces.

Besides clearing one of Afghanistan's most dangerous provinces, the operation is intended to signal to local residents that the United States intends to stay behind to begin building local governance.

Azami said he had no estimates of how many Taliban fighters moved north and west. Ghori estimated that Helmand had roughly 500 foreign Taliban fighters and another 1,000 Afghan Taliban.

U.S. and NATO officials acknowledged that the Taliban fled Helmand ahead of the Marines. But the officials said they don't believe the Taliban threaten nearby areas. Instead, they feel the Taliban are still contemplating how to respond to the operation. Some believe only a small portion moved west and north.

U.S. officials privately say they have seen less fighting during the one-week offensive than they originally had anticipated. But they stress the operation is in its early stages, adding that they think it will take roughly seven weeks to clear the valley.

"The sense is that many of the Taliban have left but they have not gone very far. They are not abandoning the Helmand River Valley ," said a senior coalition officer who agreed to speak only if he was not identified. "They have seen a lot of forces come and go, but we are not going anywhere."

More than 90 percent of Afghanistan's poppy production comes from Helmand province, making the area a major cash supplier for the Taliban .

McChrystal's plan for Afghanistan is modeled after the 2007 surge strategy in Iraq , where the United States sent an additional 30,000 troops to secure Baghdad and the surrounding perimeter. At its peak, there were more than 150,000 U.S. troops in Iraq .

Heat: number one enemy for soldiers in Afghanistan

by Ben Sheppard –

Tue July 7, 2009

GARMSIR, Afghanistan (AFP) –

After hours of ferocious fighting in southern Afghanistan, the two young US Marines desperately needed emergency medical care -- and it was the heat, not the Taliban, that had finally defeated them.

Charles Auge and Edwin Saez had landed at a canal junction at dawn last Thursday as part of a major US offensive against Islamist insurgents in the key province of Helmand.

They were engaged in an intense battle through the heat of day against dozens of gunmen who were determined not to lose control of the Mian Poshtey intersection in the south of Garmsir district.

When their two-and-a-half-litre (five-US-pint) water backpacks ran out, Auge and Saez looked to restock from the bottles that Echo company from the 2/8 infantry battalion had brought with them on the helicopter assault.

But as the company came under constant fire, the supplies were limited and the water scorchingly hot when it did arrive.

"We were on the flank beside a thick grass berm, and in the middle of the day the sun was so strong and there was no shade," Auge, 24, said. "I began to feel dizzy and everything turned white."

Saez, 21, also became a "heat casualty" soon after, having shot at -- and apparently killed -- two gunmen who were firing at the Marines from behind a wall.

"I started slipping in and out of consciousness," he said. "The water we got was so hot it burnt in my throat."

The two Marines became so seriously ill that they were evacuated from the battlefield by Red Cross helicopters that came in under hostile fire.

They were treated with intravenous drips and ice baths, and kept under observation at a field hospital for three days before being released, now recovering from the ordeal.

One of their fellow Marines was shot dead in the fighting last Thursday, and they say a total of five men were flown out of the battle after becoming dangerously overheated.

With temperatures in Helmand reaching 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 Celsius) in the past week, soldiers face huge problems staying hydrated as they fight in helmets and flak jackets, loaded down with weapons, ammunition and water.

Basic Marine combat kit weighs a minimum of 50 pounds (23 kilograms), officers say, and the men fighting in Mian Poshtey were carrying hundreds of extra ammunition rounds each as they did not know when they would be re-supplied.

The terrain in Helmand varies from the dusty plains of the desert to the river valley, which is criss-crossed with ditches and walls.

Both provide a brutal environment for US troops despite extensive conditioning before they arrive in Afghanistan.

Active soldiers can get through 10 litres of water a day and providing water at the frontline is a major logistics priority, according to Captain Micah Caskey.

"A heat stroke can be fatal, and the heat definitely claims more victims among Marines than the Taliban.

"The balance is between the protection provided by a larger plate carrier (flak jacket) and the problems of heat and mobility."

Despite their experiences, and with temperatures forecast to rise further, Auge and Saez said they were anxious rejoin their fellow Marines in south Garmsir as soon as possible.