Major assault on Taliban stronghold in Afghanistan

by Patrick Baz Patrick Baz –

Sat Feb 13, 2010, 9:45 am ET

MARJAH, Afghanistan (AFP) –

Thousands of US-led troops backed by helicopters stormed a Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan on Saturday in the first major test of President Barack Obama's new surge policy.

US Marines led the charge on Marjah, a town of 80,000 in the central Helmand River valley controlled for years by Taliban fighters.

US, British and Afghan soldiers dropped into Marjah from helicopters before dawn, immediately coming under fire and claiming their first Taliban victims within hours, Afghan army and Marines officers said.

Operation Mushtarak ("together" in Dari), as the assault involving 15,000 troops is known, aims to clear the area of Taliban and re-establish Afghan sovereignty and civil services, Helmand Governor Mohammad Gulab Mangal said.

At least 20 Taliban fighters (this allegation could not be independently verified, these could be civilians as was the case before) were killed in the first hours of the assault, said General Sher Mohammad Zazai, commander of Afghan troops taking part in the operation.

"So far, we have killed 20 armed apposition fighters. Eleven others have been detained," he said, adding they were killed in separate engagements.

Defence Minister Abdul Raheem Wardak said the operation was making painstaking progress because the area had been laced with deadly improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which can be almost impossible to detect.

"The area has been heavily mined, that's why we are moving so slowly," Wardak told reporters in Kabul.

Mushtarak is the first major assault on a Taliban stronghold since Obama announced in December that he was sending an additional 30,000 soldiers to Afghanistan in 2010.

The US and NATO already have 113,000 troops in the country battling the insurgents. NATO has pledged another 10,000, bringing the total to more than 150,000 by August. Related article: Afghan assault on Taliban to test US strategy

Mushtarak puts into practice the new US-led counter-insurgency strategy combining the military objective of eradicating the Taliban with the need to replace their brand of harsh control with the civilian authority of Kabul.

The battle for Marjah, an agricultural plain that is the source of most of the world's opium, is the first real test of the strategy devised by US General Stanley McChrystal, commander of foreign forces in Afghanistan.

Helmand governor Mangal said a government-in-waiting will sweep in behind the military to re-establish official control and civil services.

Wardak said the operation is the first of its kind against the insurgents -- and NATO officials say it is the biggest since the insurgency began following the fall of the Taliban's 1996-2001 regime.

"This is the first time that we are doing everything right," Wardak said.

"In this operation we will make sure that the security forces remain and under their protection the other elements of the struggle will be implemented."

NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said five foreign soldiers died on Saturday in the south of Afghanistan, three of them US troops, but did not say if they had been involved in the Marjah attack.

Chinook helicopters filled the pre-dawn skies as troops led by US Marines were dropped into Marjah town ahead of ground forces, a US Marines officer said.

"At 0230 this morning (2200 GMT), helicopters inserted combined forces into Marjah town," said Lieutenant Josh Diddams, spokesman for the US Marines at Taskforce Leatherneck in Helmand.

He confirmed troops had come under fire from Taliban fighters, believed to number 400-1,000.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai warned the troops to do everything possible to avoid harming civilians, a sensitive issue among war-weary Afghans, who often blame the foreign military presence.

Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi, who earlier claimed casualties among the attacking forces, said: "We're engaging them in hit-and-run attacks."

ISAF said the combined force includes the Afghan army and police, with US Marines and army backed by British forces. Danish, Estonian and Canadian troops are also involved.

NATO: 3 US service members die in Afghanistan

AP, Sat Feb 13, 2010, 5:02 am ET

KABUL –

NATO says three U.S. service members have been killed in southern Afghanistan, but the international coalition says they did not die in connection with a major offensive under way in the Taliban stronghold of Marjah in Helmand province.

NATO said the Americans died following a bombing, but it provided no other details.

Afghan National Army Maj. Abdul Rahman says international troops were killed when suicide bomber on a motorbike targeted a joint foot patrol of Afghan and U.S. soldiers in Kandahar province, which lies next to Helmand. NATO would not confirm if it was the same incident.

Separately, NATO says a Canadian soldier has died of injuries he suffered in a training accident Friday on a shooting range northeast of Kandahar.

MARJAH, Afghanistan (AP) —

Thousands of U.S. Marines and Afghan soldiers stormed the Taliban stronghold of Marjah on Saturday, pushing into the biggest town under militant control in a major offensive to break the extremists' grip over a wide area of their southern heartland.

Punching their way through a line of insurgent defenses that included mines and homemade bombs, ground forces crossed a major canal into the town's northern entrance.

Maj. Gen. Nick Carter, NATO commander of forces in southern Afghanistan, said Afghan and coalition troops, aided by 60 helicopters, made a "successful insertion" into Marjah without incurring any casualties.

"The operation went without a single hitch," Carter said at a briefing in the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah.

Carter said the strike force quickly gained ground as it moved into Marjah and overran disorganized insurgents. "We've caught the insurgents on the hoof, and they're completely dislocated," he said.

At least 20 Taliban fighters have been killed and 11 arrested so far in the offensive, said Gen. Sher Mohammad Zazai, the commander of Afghan forces in the region. Troops have recovered Kalashnikov rifles, heavy machine guns and grenades from those captured, he said.

Zazai characterized the Taliban resistance as light, saying he had no reports yet of Afghan or NATO casualties.

The long-awaited assault on Marjah in Helmand province is the biggest offensive since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan and is a major test of a new NATO strategy focused on protecting civilians. The attack is also the first major combat operation since President Barack Obama ordered 30,000 U.S. reinforcements here in December to try to turn the tide of the war.

The troops' advance into Marjah was slowed during the morning as they carefully picked their way through poppy fields lined with homemade explosives and other land mines.

Gunfire was ringing through the town by midday Saturday. The bridge over the canal into Marjah from the north was so rigged with explosives that Marines erected temporary bridges to cross into the town.

Lance Corp. Ivan Meza, 19, was the first to walk across one of the flimsy bridges.

"I did get an adrenaline rush, and that bridge is wobbly," said Meza, a Marine combat engineer from Pismo Beach, California, who is with the 1st Platoon, Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines.

Several civilians hesitantly crept out of compounds as the Marines slowly worked through a suspected mine field. The Marines entered compounds first to make sure they were clear of bombs, then called in their Afghan counterparts to interview civilians inside.

Shopkeeper Abdul Kader, 44, said seven or eight Taliban fighters who had been holding the position where the Marines crossed over had fled in the middle of the night. He said he was angry at the insurgents for having planted bombs and mines all around his neighborhood.

"They left with their motorcycles and their guns. They went deeper into town," he said as Marines and Afghan troops searched a poppy field next to his house. "We can't even walk out of our own houses."

The ground assault followed many hours after an initial wave of helicopters carrying hundreds of U.S. Marines and Afghan troops swooped into town under the cover of darkness early Saturday. Cobra helicopters fired Hellfire missiles at tunnels, bunkers and other defensive positions.

Marine commanders had said they expected between 400 to 1,000 Taliban fighters — including more than 100 foreign fighters — to be holed up in Marjah. The town of 80,000 people, about 360 miles (610 kilometers) southwest of Kabul, is the biggest southern town under Taliban control and the linchpin of the militants' logistical and opium-smuggling network.

The operation, code-named "Moshtarak," or "Together," was described as the biggest joint operation of the Afghan war, with 15,000 troops involved, including some 7,500 troops fighting in Marjah.

To the north, British, American and Canadian forces struck in the Nad Ali district in a push to break Taliban power in Helmand, one of the major battlefields of the war.

Once Marjah is secured, NATO hopes to rush in aid and restore public services in a bid to win support among the estimated 125,000 people who live in the town and surrounding villages. The Afghans' ability to restore those services is crucial to the success of the operation and to prevent the Taliban from returning.

Carter said coalition forces hope to install an Afghan government presence within the next few days and will work to find and neutralize improvised explosive devices — homemade bombs — left by the militants.

Tribal elders have pleaded for NATO to finish the operation quickly and spare civilians — an appeal that offers some hope the townspeople will cooperate with Afghan and international forces once the Taliban are gone.

Still, the town's residents have displayed few signs of rushing to welcome the attack force.

"The elders are telling people to stay behind the front doors and keep them bolted," Carter said. "Once people feel more secure and they realize there is government present on the ground, they will come out and tell us where the IEDs are."

The overwhelming military edge already seen in the first hours of the offensive will be essential to maintain, Carter said. "Everybody needs to understand that it's not so much the clear phase that's decisive. It's the hold phase."

Carter said the coalition offensive was "personally endorsed and sanctioned" by Karzai during consultations the day before troops went on the move.

A defense official at the Pentagon said Karzai was informed of planning for the operation well in advance. The official said it marked a first in terms of both sharing information prior to the attack and planning collaboration with the Afghan government.

The Marjah offensive involves close combat in extremely difficult terrain, that official said. A close grid of wide canals dug by the United States as an aid project decades ago make the territory a particularly rich agricultural prize, but they complicate the advance of U.S. forces.

On the eve of the attack, cars and trucks jammed the main road out of Marjah as hundreds of civilians defied militant orders and fled the area. For weeks, U.S. commanders had signaled their intention to attack Marjah in hopes that civilians would seek shelter.

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Associated Press writers Noor Khan in Kandahar, Christopher Torchia outside Marjah, Amir Shah in Kabul, and Anne Gearan, Stephen Braun and Anne Flaherty in Washington contributed to this report.

Bombs slow US advance in Afghan town

By ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU Associated Press Writer

Feb 13, 2010, 1:19 PM EST

MARJAH, Afghanistan (AP) --

Bombs and booby traps slowed the advance of thousands of U.S. Marines and Afghan soldiers moving Saturday through the Taliban-controlled town of Marjah - NATO's most ambitious effort yet to break the militants' grip over their southern heartland.

NATO said it hoped to secure the area in days, set up a local government and rush in development aid in a first test of the new U.S. strategy for turning the tide of the eight-year war. The offensive is the largest since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan.

The Taliban appeared to have scattered in the face of overwhelming force, possibly waiting to regroup and stage attacks later to foil the alliance's plan to stabilize the area and expand Afghan government control in the volatile south.

NATO said two of its soldiers were killed in the first day of the operation - one American and one Briton, according to military officials in their countries. Afghan authorities said at least 20 insurgents were killed.

More than 30 transport helicopters ferried troops into the heart of Marjah before dawn Saturday, while British, Afghan and U.S. troops fanned out across the Nad Ali district to the north of the mudbrick town, long a stronghold of the Taliban.

Maj. Gen. Gordon Messenger told reporters in London that British forces "have successfully secured the area militarily" with only sporadic resistance from Taliban forces. A Taliban spokesman insisted their forces still controlled the town.

In Marjah, Marines and Afghan troops faced little armed resistance. But their advance through the town was impeded by countless land mines, homemade bombs and booby-traps littering the area.

Throughout the day, Marine ordnance teams blew up bombs where they were found, setting off huge explosions that reverberated through the dusty streets.

The bridge over the canal into Marjah from the north was rigged with so many explosives that Marines erected temporary bridges to cross into the town.

"It's just got to be a very slow and deliberate process," said Capt. Joshua Winfrey of Stillwater, Okla., a Marine company commander.

Lt. Col. Brian Christmas, commander of the 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, said U.S. troops fought gunbattles in at least four areas of the town, including the western suburb of Sistani where India Company faced "some intense fighting."

To the east, the battalion's Kilo Company was inserted into the town by helicopter without meeting resistance but was then "significantly engaged" as the Marines fanned out from the landing zone, Christmas said.

Marine commanders had said they expected between 400 and 1,000 insurgents - including more than 100 foreign fighters - to be holed up in Marjah, a town of 80,000 people which is the linchpin of the militants' logistical and opium-smuggling network in the south.

Shopkeeper Abdul Kader, 44, said seven or eight Taliban fighters, who had been holding the position where the Marines crossed over, had fled in the middle of the night. He said he was angry at the insurgents for having planted bombs and mines all around his neighborhood.

"They left with their motorcycles and their guns. They went deeper into town," he said as Marines and Afghan troops searched a poppy field next to his house. "We can't even walk out of our own houses."

Saturday's ground assault followed several hours after the first wave of helicopters flew troops over the mine fields into the center of town before dawn. Helicopter gunships fired missiles at Taliban tunnels and bunkers while flares illuminated the night sky so pilots could see their landing zones.

The offensive, code-named "Moshtarak," or "Together," was described as the biggest joint operation of the Afghan war, with 15,000 troops involved, including some 7,500 in Marjah itself. The government says Afghan soldiers make up at least half of the offensive's force.

Elsewhere in the south, three U.S. soldiers were killed by a bomb in an attack unrelated to the operation, NATO said.

Once Marjah is secured, NATO hopes to quickly deliver aid and provide public services in a bid to win support among the estimated 125,000 people who live in the town and surrounding villages. The Afghans' ability to restore those services is crucial to the success of the operation and in preventing the Taliban from returning.

Maj. Gen. Nick Carter, the top NATO commander in the south, said coalition forces hope to install an Afghan government presence within the next few days, bringing health care, education, electricity and other public services to win the allegiance of the townspeople.

Teams of international development workers and Afghan officials are ready to enter the area as soon as security permits. A deputy district chief has already been appointed for Marjah and government teams have drawn up maps of where schools, clinics and mosques should be built.

Some officials were more cautious about the speed with which government can be installed.

"I can't yet say how long it will take for this military phase to get to the point where we can bring in the civilian support from the Afghan government. We hope that will happen quickly," NATO's civilian chief, Mark Sedwill, said in Kabul.

Sedwill said a key part of establishing government in Marjah will be a series of meetings with tribal elders to hear their concerns much like two meetings that preceded the offensive.

Tribal elders have pleaded with NATO to finish the operation quickly and spare civilians - an appeal that offers some hope the townspeople will cooperate with Afghan and international forces once the Taliban are gone.

Still, the town's residents have displayed few signs of rushing to welcome the attack force.

"The elders are telling people to stay behind the front doors and keep them bolted," Carter said. "Once people feel more secure and they realize there is government present on the ground, they will come out and tell us where the IEDs are."

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Associated Press writers Noor Khan in Kandahar, Rahim Faiez and Heidi Vogt in Kabul, Stephen Braun and Robert Burns in Washington contributed to this report.