NATO to launch major offensive in Afghanistan

[kelvin070]

This will be a do or die mission to take hold of Taliban stronghold.

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- NATO troops in Afghanistan were set to launch their biggest offensive of the war early Saturday, attacking what they call the last Taliban stronghold in a war-scarred southern province.
Military officials said the offensive, dubbed Operation Moshtarak, was scheduled to be under way at 2 a.m. (4:30 p.m. ET Friday)
Some of about 15,000 troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Afghanistan and Canada were to attack Taliban targets in and around Marjah, a city of 80,000 to 100,000 where the Taliban have set up a shadow government, coalition military authorities said.

Some of the 30,000 additional U.S. troops whom President Obama sent to Afghanistan will take part in the fight.

Reporter says initially 15,000 troops involved. Then following paragraph says 30,000 additional US troops involved.
NATO to launch major offensive in Afghanistan - CNN.com

 

[kelvin070]

US: Attack on Afghan Town Marjah Launched

[
(NEAR MARJAH, Afghanistan) — Helicopter-borne U.S. Marines and Afghan troops swooped down on the Taliban-held town of Marjah before dawn on Saturday, launching a long-expected attack to re-establish government control and undermine support for the militants in their southern heartland.
The attack on Marjah climaxed the biggest joint Afghan-international offensive of the war and is the largest combat operation since President Barack Obama ordered 30,000 U.S. reinforcements here last December to turn the tide of the war.
Marine commanders say they expect between 400 to 1,000 insurgents to be holed up inside this southern Afghan town of 80,000 people in Helmand province, including more than 100 foreign fighters. Marjah is the biggest southern town under Taliban control and the linchpin of the militants' logistical and opium-smuggling network.


Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1964172,00.html#ixzz0fONePmUv
/QUOTE]

 

[kelvin070]

Taliban stronghold under siege in NATO offensive

Marjah, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A major operation to rout militants from a notorious southern Afghan Taliban stronghold claimed its first NATO casualties Saturday, but officials said offensive of the war was off to a good start.
Two coalition soldiers died shortly after Operation Moshtarak -- an operation by NATO-led and Afghan troops -- launched in the early morning hours of Saturday, a NATO spokeswoman said.
A U.S. military official confirmed one U.S. Marine was killed in small arms fire in Operation Moshtarak in Helmand province, and a British soldier was killed in an explosion.
Flight Commander Wendy Wheadon said NATO forces were already working with local leaders to begin the transition of authority as troops move into Marjah, a place thought to be the last Taliban stronghold in the southern Afghanistan province of Helmand.
Helmand is long a bastion of pro-Taliban sentiment awash with the opium used to fund the insurgency, and Marjah, a city of 80,000 to 100,000 residents, is where the Taliban has set up a shadow government.
Five Taliban fighters were killed and eight were arrested in the early hours of the operation, said a spokesman for the Helmand province governor, Dawoud Ahmadi.

Taliban stronghold under siege in NATO offensive - CNN.com

 

[kelvin070]

Troops Miss Target, Kill 12 Afghan Civilians

"We deeply regret this tragic loss of life," said Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top commander in Afghanistan. "The current operation in central Helmand is aimed at restoring security and stability to this vital area of Afghanistan. It's regrettable that in the course of our joint efforts, innocent lives were lost."
McChrystal said he had apologized to Afghan President Hamid Karzai for the accident and had suspended the use of the rocket system until the incident can be reviewed.
Karzai issued a statement minutes earlier saying 10 members of the same family died when the rocket hit a house in Marjah. He ordered an investigation into who fired the rocket. Before the offensive began on Saturday, Karzai pleaded with Afghan and foreign military leaders to be "seriously careful for the safety of civilians."


Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1964241,00.html#ixzz0fYN7POQn