Things are moving ahead nicely for the new contingent of U.S. Marines that were sent into Afghanistan. And a big thanks goes to British troops for helping in grooming the Marines for the terrain challenges of the region. This is an excerpt from the article here at Times Online:
This really is big news in that this area was and still is a stronghold of the Taliban and the Brits who have had this on their shoulders alone for a long time, have finally received the support they needed to really cut into the Taliban's supply chain coming in and out of Helmand province.
And the fact of the matter is this - once the Marines have gotten their areas set up and can begin more of a search and destroy status, it should be incredible what happens to the Taliban positions here. What Taliban commanders that are actually left in the area should be high tailing it to Pakistan soon and that should leave a disjointed and vulnerable Taliban force.
It's my prediction that we will see some daily Taliban body counts coming from Marine assaults in the neighborhood of 50-100. At the same time, this is going to be some tough fighting for the Marines and it's my guess that the Taliban have taken the time to improvise some serious IED placements as the Marines push further south.
US Marines supported by British troops in Afghanistan now command three key locations south of the town of Garmsir, in Helmand province, putting pressure on the main supply routes of the Taleban for arms, opium and reinforcements.
For the first time since the Nato campaign expanded to the south in 2006 the Taleban stranglehold in this part of Helmand – stretching from the Pakistan border to Garmsir – has been weakened.
This really is big news in that this area was and still is a stronghold of the Taliban and the Brits who have had this on their shoulders alone for a long time, have finally received the support they needed to really cut into the Taliban's supply chain coming in and out of Helmand province.
And the fact of the matter is this - once the Marines have gotten their areas set up and can begin more of a search and destroy status, it should be incredible what happens to the Taliban positions here. What Taliban commanders that are actually left in the area should be high tailing it to Pakistan soon and that should leave a disjointed and vulnerable Taliban force.
It's my prediction that we will see some daily Taliban body counts coming from Marine assaults in the neighborhood of 50-100. At the same time, this is going to be some tough fighting for the Marines and it's my guess that the Taliban have taken the time to improvise some serious IED placements as the Marines push further south.
British troops guide US Marines on anti-Taleban raids in Afghanistan
US Marines supported by British troops in Afghanistan now command three key locations south of the town of Garmsir, in Helmand province, putting pressure on the main supply routes of the Taleban for arms, opium and reinforcements.
For the first time since the Nato campaign expanded to the south in 2006 the Taleban stranglehold in this part of Helmand – stretching from the Pakistan border to Garmsir – has been weakened. Crucial vantage points are now held by 1,200 US Marines from 24 Marine Expeditionary Unit (24 MEU) and 200 soldiers from the 2nd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland (2 Scots) battle group.
Lieutenant-Colonel Robin Matthews, the chief British spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said that the US men were guided by British troops as they moved at night “over extraordinarily difficult terrain . . . to launch their assault”.
The operation, which started on April 28 and involved helicopter and ground assaults, provided the US Marines from 24 MEU with their first offensive against the Taleban since they arrived in southern Afghanistan last month as a special reserve manoeuvre force for the Nato commander of Regional Command South. They have already lost two men.
Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith, the British commander of Task Force Helmand, told The Times: “This operation has severely dislocated Taleban control of an area in which they have traditionally enjoyed considerable autonomy.”
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