2 US Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan War Attacks, February 3, 2010

2 US Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan War Attacks

February 3, 2010

Bomb kills two US soldiers in Afghanistan: NATO

Wed Feb 3, 2010, 1:12 am ET

KABUL (AFP) –

A bomb attack killed two US soldiers in the volatile southern region of Afghanistan, pushing the death toll of foreign troops in the country to over 50 for the year so far, NATO said Wednesday.

In a brief statement, NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said the two soldiers were killed on Tuesday.

"Two ISAF service members from the United States were killed yesterday in an IED strike in southern Afghanistan," it said, referring to an improvised explosive device.

The icasualties.org website puts the toll for 2010 at 51. An ISAF spokesman confirmed that six foreign soldiers have been killed this month.

IEDs are claiming up to 90 percent of the lives of foreign troops killed as they battle to contain and eradicate insurgents who have been waging war against the Western-backed Afghan authorities for more than eight years.

Around 113,000 international troops in the country will be supplemented by another 40,000 US and NATO forces as the emphasis of the fight shifts to clearing out insurgents and holding territory for development and aid.

Many of the new troops will be deployed to the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar, where the Taliban are concentrated, although their footprint has spread rapidly across the country in recent years.

A major offensive is expected in the Marjah region of Helmand, likely to mirror a similar assault last year in the Garmsir region further north which was seen as a success in flushing out insurgents.

Afghanistan: Marines Gear Up for Biggest Fight Yet

The Biggest Test Yet for President Obama's Surge of Troops Into Afghanistan

By MIGUEL MARQUEZ CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan, Feb. 3, 2010

The city of Marja will be the biggest test yet for President Obama's troop surge in Afghanistan. Thousands of U.S. Marines, soldiers, Afghan security forces and international forces are planning to oust hard-core insurgents from their last big refuge in Helmand Province.

There are about 15,000 Marines in Helmand, about 4,000 of them arriving since Obama called for an increase in troops in December, Marine Col. George Amland, deputy commander in Afghanistan, said.

The Marines in Marja are "the leading edge of the president's surge force," he said.

Marines in Marja could face the biggest number of hard-core insurgents yet. An estimated 400 to 1,000 Marines may stay and fight.

Marja and the surrounding area, with an estimated population of 125,000, are more heavily populated, urban and dense than other places Marines have so far been able to clear and hold. Vast quantities of opium are produced in the center of the Helmand River Valley. Profits from drug sales often fund insurgent operations.

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