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A contingent of the US Marine Corps in Afghanistan - Source: Reuters
US-led NATO troops launched a crucial offensive on Saturday
against the Taliban's last big stronghold in Afghanistan's most
violent province and were quickly thrown into a firefight with the
militants.
The assault is a test of President Barack Obama's ordered "surge"
of extra troops to Afghanistan in December and the start of a
campaign to impose government control on rebel-held areas this
year, before US forces start to withdraw in 2011.
Within hours of the operation getting underway, US Marines at the
tip of the assault battled with Taliban militants in Marjah, in
Helmand Province, all the time facing the possibility of being
blown up by booby traps rigged across the town.
Marines engaged in a firefight with Taliban militants after the US
troops landed in helicopters near the town. They fired at least
four rockets at militants who attacked from compounds.
At least one Marine was wounded by shrapnel.
More than two hours later, the area was still gripped by the
firefight, with the Marines firing another large rocket. One family
of civilians nearby was huddled in a room of their house, with the
washing flapping on the line outside.
The first objective of US Marines was to take over the town centre,
a large cluster of dwellings.
A Reuters reporter said exchanges of fire - with assault rifles
crackling - erupted initially about 300 metres away. Moments
earlier, two large explosions resounded and a large black plume of
smoke rose into the sky.
The offensive began with waves of helicopters ferrying US Marines
into the city in the early morning hours. British troops then flew
into the northern part of the surrounding Nad Ali district,
followed by tanks and combat engineering units.
"The first phase of the operation is proceeding very successfully.
The Taliban have heavily booby-trapped the area, but there has not
been any fierce fighting yet," Helmand Governor Gulab Mangal told a
news conference.
"We have seized 11 key locations in the district and the resistance
from the insurgents has been subdued."
15,000 troops in operation
The 15,000-troop operation may have been named Mushtarak, or
together, to highlight that NATO and Afghan forces were determined
to work closely to bring stability to Afghanistan.
Much of whether the apparent early success can translate into a
more permanent solution to militancy may depend on whether the
government can ensure long-term political and economic
stability.
It is also essential that Afghan troops become effective enough to
prevent the return of militants to areas they previously held,
without the help of Western firepower.
Marjah has long been a breeding ground for insurgents and lucrative
opium poppy cultivation. Residents may not be keen for any
upheaval, even if they were subjected to the Taliban's austere
brand of Islam.
Afghanistan produces more than 90% of the world's illegal opium,
the raw ingredient used to make heroin, an industry Western
countries say funds the insurgency against NATO troops and the
Afghan government.
There are other complicating factors. Many of the militants on the
top of the US hit list operate from sanctuaries in forbidding
border areas in Pakistan.
US ally Pakistan is reluctant to pursue them as they see the
militants as assets to counter the influence of rival India in
Afghanistan. If that does not change, offensives may produce
limited results.
Surrounded by bombs
Decades ago, the Marjah area was home to an Afghan-American
development project. Its canals, which criss-cross lush farmland,
were built by the Americans. Now NATO is trying to recapture it
from militants unlikely to contemplate cooperation with the
West.
A local Taliban commander, Qari Fazluddin, told Reuters earlier
some 2,000 fighters were ready to fight.
Unlike previous operations, this offensive has been flagged for
months, a move commanders hoped will persuade many fighters to lay
down their arms or flee.
The safety of civilians may be the vital issue for NATO against the
Taliban, which have re-emerged as a deadly fighting force since
they were toppled by a US-led invasion in 2001.
NATO forces have advised civilians not to leave their homes, though
it is uncertain whether heavy fighting will occur.
Most of the estimated 100,000 residents of the area have stayed
put. But others have headed 30 km east to the provincial capital of
Lashkar Gah. "All the walls between the streets and houses are
surrounded by bombs. Most people have gone to Lashkar Gah. That's
where we want to go today," resident Abdel Aziz, 16, told the
Marines through a translator.
Soon after, an elderly woman emerged from her house and asked
Marines not to fire at it. "This is just my house," she said.
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