nastyleg
02-15-2010, 03:53 AM
US, Afghan forces push deeper into Marjah
By ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU, Associated Press Writer Alfred De Montesquiou, Associated Press Writer – 20 mins ago
MARJAH, Afghanistan – U.S. Marine and Afghan units pressed deeper into the Taliban haven of Marjah on Monday, facing sporadic rocket and mortar fire as they moved through suspected insurgent neighborhoods on the third day of a NATO offensive to reclaim the southern Afghan town.
Convoys, minerollers and armored trucks rolled down unpaved alleys with an escort of Marine snipers and infantrymen to protect them from insurgent fire.
Troops braced for the estimated 2.5-mile (4-kilometer) march to link up with U.S. and Afghan troops who had been airdropped into town. A day earlier, small squads of Taliban snipers initiated several gunbattles throughout the day in an attempt to draw coalition forces into a larger ambush.
The massive offensive involving some 15,000 U.S., Afghan, British troops is the biggest joint operation since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan.
However, the mission faced a setback on Sunday when two U.S. rockets slammed into a home outside Marjah, killing 12 civilians after Afghanistan's president had appealed to NATO to take care in its campaign to seize the southern town.
The civilian deaths were a blow to NATO and Afghan efforts to win the support of residents in the Marjah area, a major goal of the biggest ground offensive of the eight-year war. Marjah, which had a population of 80,000 before the offensive, is a Taliban logistical center and a base for their lucrative opium trade that finances the insurgency.
The top NATO commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, apologized to President Hamid Karzai for "this tragic loss of life" and suspended use of the sophisticated HIMARS system pending "a thorough review of this incident," NATO said.
The rockets were fired by a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, at insurgents who attacked U.S. and Afghan forces, wounding one American and one Afghan, NATO said in a statement. Instead, the projectiles veered 300 yards (meters) off target and blasted a house in the Nad Ali district, which includes Marjah, NATO added.
Before the offensive began Saturday, Karzai pleaded for the Afghan and foreign commanders to be "seriously careful for the safety of civilians."
Karzai's spokesman Waheed Omar said the president "is very upset about what happened" and has been "very seriously conveying his message" of restraint "again and again."
Allied officials have reported two coalition deaths so far — one American and one Briton, who were both killed Saturday. Afghan officials said at least 27 insurgents have been killed in the offensive.
In unrelated incidents in southern Afghanistan, NATO said two service members died Sunday — one from small-arms fire and the other from a roadside bomb explosion. The international force did not disclose their nationalities, but the British defense ministry reported that a British soldier died Sunday of wounds suffered in an explosion.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100215/ap_on_re_as/as_afghanistan
By ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU, Associated Press Writer Alfred De Montesquiou, Associated Press Writer – 20 mins ago
MARJAH, Afghanistan – U.S. Marine and Afghan units pressed deeper into the Taliban haven of Marjah on Monday, facing sporadic rocket and mortar fire as they moved through suspected insurgent neighborhoods on the third day of a NATO offensive to reclaim the southern Afghan town.
Convoys, minerollers and armored trucks rolled down unpaved alleys with an escort of Marine snipers and infantrymen to protect them from insurgent fire.
Troops braced for the estimated 2.5-mile (4-kilometer) march to link up with U.S. and Afghan troops who had been airdropped into town. A day earlier, small squads of Taliban snipers initiated several gunbattles throughout the day in an attempt to draw coalition forces into a larger ambush.
The massive offensive involving some 15,000 U.S., Afghan, British troops is the biggest joint operation since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan.
However, the mission faced a setback on Sunday when two U.S. rockets slammed into a home outside Marjah, killing 12 civilians after Afghanistan's president had appealed to NATO to take care in its campaign to seize the southern town.
The civilian deaths were a blow to NATO and Afghan efforts to win the support of residents in the Marjah area, a major goal of the biggest ground offensive of the eight-year war. Marjah, which had a population of 80,000 before the offensive, is a Taliban logistical center and a base for their lucrative opium trade that finances the insurgency.
The top NATO commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, apologized to President Hamid Karzai for "this tragic loss of life" and suspended use of the sophisticated HIMARS system pending "a thorough review of this incident," NATO said.
The rockets were fired by a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, at insurgents who attacked U.S. and Afghan forces, wounding one American and one Afghan, NATO said in a statement. Instead, the projectiles veered 300 yards (meters) off target and blasted a house in the Nad Ali district, which includes Marjah, NATO added.
Before the offensive began Saturday, Karzai pleaded for the Afghan and foreign commanders to be "seriously careful for the safety of civilians."
Karzai's spokesman Waheed Omar said the president "is very upset about what happened" and has been "very seriously conveying his message" of restraint "again and again."
Allied officials have reported two coalition deaths so far — one American and one Briton, who were both killed Saturday. Afghan officials said at least 27 insurgents have been killed in the offensive.
In unrelated incidents in southern Afghanistan, NATO said two service members died Sunday — one from small-arms fire and the other from a roadside bomb explosion. The international force did not disclose their nationalities, but the British defense ministry reported that a British soldier died Sunday of wounds suffered in an explosion.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100215/ap_on_re_as/as_afghanistan