U.S. Marines from the 2nd MEB, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines stop to make camp outside of Marjah in Afghanistan's Helmand province Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010.
Thousands of US Marines and NATO and Afghan soldiers have massed around the town of Marjah, a Taliban bastion in Helmand province, poised to launch one of the biggest operations against the insurgents since the 2001 US-led invasion.
The assault, dubbed Operation Mushtarak ("Together" in Dari) and expected to begin within days, aims to drive out the Taliban and replace their harsh rule with Western-backed Afghan government institutions.
In a defiant statement on their website, the Taliban vowed to defend the town in the poppy-growing region of the central Helmand River valley, which they have controlled for years in tandem with drug traffickers.
"From what we see on the ground this operation is no different to the invading forces' day-to-day activities," Yousuf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, was quoted as saying.
"The enemy is making a big deal of it. They try to sell it to the media as a big offensive in spite of the fact that Marjah is a small place," he said, adding: "The operation is not as big as they claim." Marjah: heartland of the Taliban
Nevertheless he vowed that Taliban gunmen would stand against the offensive, using "hit-and-run" tactics and the improvised explosive devises, or IEDs, that have become a staple of their arsenal.
"I can say at this point that we'll be using tactics we deployed in the Nawa and Khanishin operations," he said, referring to two offensives in Helmand last year, the British-led Panther's Claw, and the Marines' Dagger.
"It will be mostly hit-and-run and roadside bomb attacks," he said.
Taliban-led insurgents have been fighting to topple the Western-backed Kabul government since their regime was overthrown in late 2001.
Remnants of the Islamist movement regrouped quickly to launch an insurgency that has become increasingly deadly, last year claiming the lives of a record 520 foreign soldiers, most of them from IED attacks.
So far this year more than 60 foreign soldiers -- of the 113,000 deployed in Afghanistan under US and NATO command -- have died in the Afghan theatre, most of them in IED strikes.
An AFP photographer with a US Marines unit five kilometres (three miles) northeast of Marjah said insurgents could be seen planting IEDs on roads around a strategic junction and were subjecting the Marines to an almost constant barrage of mortar and rocket fire from nearby residential compounds.
Under their rules of engagement, the Marines were not able to retaliate, the AFP photographer said, until all residents had fled the area.
Radio communications monitoring picked up Taliban leaders telling their fighters to prevent the Marines building "a base by any means". Related article: Assault to test US strategy
Some civilians were caught in the crossfire of skirmishes, including six-year-old Kheraki, who was brought to the Marines' camp by her father before being flown by helicopter to a military base for treatment.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said Wednesday there had been a sharp rise in civilian casualties in preparatory operations for the assault.
The Taliban spokesman, Ahmadi, claimed earlier this week that the militant group had developed a new IED -- named after fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar -- that is undetectable by mine sweeping systems.
The bombs will be used once the operation begins, he said.
NATO officials predict victory and say removing the Taliban will pave the way for the Afghan government to re-establish control over the area, which is less that 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the provincial capital Lashkar Gah.
Residents who have not fled are being asked to remain indoors once the operation begins, said the provincial governor's spokesman Daud Ahmadi.
"We have repeatedly asked the people of Marjah not to leave the area, as during this operation they will be not harmed -- the target of the operation is opposition," he said, referring to the insurgents.
Another 100 families left the area on Tuesday and Wednesday, he said, following the 400 families the provincial department of refugees and repatriation said left earlier in the week.
Routine search operations were being conducted by Afghan and Western forces in the north and south of Nad Ali district, where Marjah is located, he said, and some IEDs and weapons had been seized in the operations, and , seized some roadside bombs and weapons, which there was no casualties.
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Thursday, February 11, 2010
DTN News: Afghanistan TODAY February 12, 2010 ~ Taliban Vow Guerrilla Warfare Against NATO Troops
DTN News: Afghanistan TODAY February 12, 2010 ~ Taliban Vow Guerrilla Warfare Against NATO Troops
*Source: DTN News / By Sardar Ahmad (AFP)
(NSI News Source Info) KABUL, Afghanistan - February 12, 2010: The Taliban vowed on Thursday to fight back with a "hit and run" guerrilla campaign against Western and Afghan forces preparing to storm one of their key strongholds in southern Afghanistan.U.S. Marines from the 2nd MEB, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines stop to make camp outside of Marjah in Afghanistan's Helmand province Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010.
Thousands of US Marines and NATO and Afghan soldiers have massed around the town of Marjah, a Taliban bastion in Helmand province, poised to launch one of the biggest operations against the insurgents since the 2001 US-led invasion.
The assault, dubbed Operation Mushtarak ("Together" in Dari) and expected to begin within days, aims to drive out the Taliban and replace their harsh rule with Western-backed Afghan government institutions.
In a defiant statement on their website, the Taliban vowed to defend the town in the poppy-growing region of the central Helmand River valley, which they have controlled for years in tandem with drug traffickers.
"From what we see on the ground this operation is no different to the invading forces' day-to-day activities," Yousuf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, was quoted as saying.
"The enemy is making a big deal of it. They try to sell it to the media as a big offensive in spite of the fact that Marjah is a small place," he said, adding: "The operation is not as big as they claim." Marjah: heartland of the Taliban
Nevertheless he vowed that Taliban gunmen would stand against the offensive, using "hit-and-run" tactics and the improvised explosive devises, or IEDs, that have become a staple of their arsenal.
"I can say at this point that we'll be using tactics we deployed in the Nawa and Khanishin operations," he said, referring to two offensives in Helmand last year, the British-led Panther's Claw, and the Marines' Dagger.
"It will be mostly hit-and-run and roadside bomb attacks," he said.
Taliban-led insurgents have been fighting to topple the Western-backed Kabul government since their regime was overthrown in late 2001.
Remnants of the Islamist movement regrouped quickly to launch an insurgency that has become increasingly deadly, last year claiming the lives of a record 520 foreign soldiers, most of them from IED attacks.
So far this year more than 60 foreign soldiers -- of the 113,000 deployed in Afghanistan under US and NATO command -- have died in the Afghan theatre, most of them in IED strikes.
An AFP photographer with a US Marines unit five kilometres (three miles) northeast of Marjah said insurgents could be seen planting IEDs on roads around a strategic junction and were subjecting the Marines to an almost constant barrage of mortar and rocket fire from nearby residential compounds.
Under their rules of engagement, the Marines were not able to retaliate, the AFP photographer said, until all residents had fled the area.
Radio communications monitoring picked up Taliban leaders telling their fighters to prevent the Marines building "a base by any means". Related article: Assault to test US strategy
Some civilians were caught in the crossfire of skirmishes, including six-year-old Kheraki, who was brought to the Marines' camp by her father before being flown by helicopter to a military base for treatment.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said Wednesday there had been a sharp rise in civilian casualties in preparatory operations for the assault.
The Taliban spokesman, Ahmadi, claimed earlier this week that the militant group had developed a new IED -- named after fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar -- that is undetectable by mine sweeping systems.
The bombs will be used once the operation begins, he said.
NATO officials predict victory and say removing the Taliban will pave the way for the Afghan government to re-establish control over the area, which is less that 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the provincial capital Lashkar Gah.
Residents who have not fled are being asked to remain indoors once the operation begins, said the provincial governor's spokesman Daud Ahmadi.
"We have repeatedly asked the people of Marjah not to leave the area, as during this operation they will be not harmed -- the target of the operation is opposition," he said, referring to the insurgents.
Another 100 families left the area on Tuesday and Wednesday, he said, following the 400 families the provincial department of refugees and repatriation said left earlier in the week.
Routine search operations were being conducted by Afghan and Western forces in the north and south of Nad Ali district, where Marjah is located, he said, and some IEDs and weapons had been seized in the operations, and , seized some roadside bombs and weapons, which there was no casualties.
Related Articles
US and Afghan forces prepare for offensive against Taliban stronghold Dallas Morning News - 1 day ago
UK hospitals 'overwhelmed' with Afghan war wounded Press TV - 1 day ago
NATO Warns Afghan Civilians Ahead Of Major Military Offensive RTT News - 2 days ago
U.S. Marines from the 2nd MEB, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines stop to make camp outside of Marjah in Afghanistan's Helmand province Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010.
Thousands of US Marines and NATO and Afghan soldiers have massed around the town of Marjah, a Taliban bastion in Helmand province, poised to launch one of the biggest operations against the insurgents since the 2001 US-led invasion.
The assault, dubbed Operation Mushtarak ("Together" in Dari) and expected to begin within days, aims to drive out the Taliban and replace their harsh rule with Western-backed Afghan government institutions.
In a defiant statement on their website, the Taliban vowed to defend the town in the poppy-growing region of the central Helmand River valley, which they have controlled for years in tandem with drug traffickers.
"From what we see on the ground this operation is no different to the invading forces' day-to-day activities," Yousuf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, was quoted as saying.
"The enemy is making a big deal of it. They try to sell it to the media as a big offensive in spite of the fact that Marjah is a small place," he said, adding: "The operation is not as big as they claim." Marjah: heartland of the Taliban
Nevertheless he vowed that Taliban gunmen would stand against the offensive, using "hit-and-run" tactics and the improvised explosive devises, or IEDs, that have become a staple of their arsenal.
"I can say at this point that we'll be using tactics we deployed in the Nawa and Khanishin operations," he said, referring to two offensives in Helmand last year, the British-led Panther's Claw, and the Marines' Dagger.
"It will be mostly hit-and-run and roadside bomb attacks," he said.
Taliban-led insurgents have been fighting to topple the Western-backed Kabul government since their regime was overthrown in late 2001.
Remnants of the Islamist movement regrouped quickly to launch an insurgency that has become increasingly deadly, last year claiming the lives of a record 520 foreign soldiers, most of them from IED attacks.
So far this year more than 60 foreign soldiers -- of the 113,000 deployed in Afghanistan under US and NATO command -- have died in the Afghan theatre, most of them in IED strikes.
An AFP photographer with a US Marines unit five kilometres (three miles) northeast of Marjah said insurgents could be seen planting IEDs on roads around a strategic junction and were subjecting the Marines to an almost constant barrage of mortar and rocket fire from nearby residential compounds.
Under their rules of engagement, the Marines were not able to retaliate, the AFP photographer said, until all residents had fled the area.
Radio communications monitoring picked up Taliban leaders telling their fighters to prevent the Marines building "a base by any means". Related article: Assault to test US strategy
Some civilians were caught in the crossfire of skirmishes, including six-year-old Kheraki, who was brought to the Marines' camp by her father before being flown by helicopter to a military base for treatment.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said Wednesday there had been a sharp rise in civilian casualties in preparatory operations for the assault.
The Taliban spokesman, Ahmadi, claimed earlier this week that the militant group had developed a new IED -- named after fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar -- that is undetectable by mine sweeping systems.
The bombs will be used once the operation begins, he said.
NATO officials predict victory and say removing the Taliban will pave the way for the Afghan government to re-establish control over the area, which is less that 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the provincial capital Lashkar Gah.
Residents who have not fled are being asked to remain indoors once the operation begins, said the provincial governor's spokesman Daud Ahmadi.
"We have repeatedly asked the people of Marjah not to leave the area, as during this operation they will be not harmed -- the target of the operation is opposition," he said, referring to the insurgents.
Another 100 families left the area on Tuesday and Wednesday, he said, following the 400 families the provincial department of refugees and repatriation said left earlier in the week.
Routine search operations were being conducted by Afghan and Western forces in the north and south of Nad Ali district, where Marjah is located, he said, and some IEDs and weapons had been seized in the operations, and , seized some roadside bombs and weapons, which there was no casualties.
Related Articles
US and Afghan forces prepare for offensive against Taliban stronghold Dallas Morning News - 1 day ago
UK hospitals 'overwhelmed' with Afghan war wounded Press TV - 1 day ago
NATO Warns Afghan Civilians Ahead Of Major Military Offensive RTT News - 2 days ago
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