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**occallExtet** · 02-13-2010, 03:38 PM

World
Feb 13, 2010

Assault claims 1st casualties

Thousands of US-led troops have begun a major offensive against one of the Taleban insurgents' last bastions in southern Afghanistan. --PHOTO: AFP

MARJAH (Afghanistan) - A MASSIVE assault force taking on the Talrban in southern Afghanistan claimed its first kills on Saturday within hours of launching its biggest operation since US President Barack Obama's troop surge, an Afghan army commander said. Five Taleban militants were killed soon after US-led troops helicoptered into Marjah in the poppy-growing belt of Helmand province, said Sher Mohammad Zazai, commander of the Afghan Army's 205 Corps. 'According to initial reports, five enemy have been killed,' he said. 'Two were killed in one location, three in another. They were killed in face-to-face fighting,' he told reporters by video link from Helmand's capital of Lashkar Gah.

Chinook helicopters filled the pre-dawn skies over Marjah as 15,000 troops led by US Marines launched the first major offensive since Mr Obama's new troop surge aimed at bringing an end to the eight-year war. Hundreds of Afghan, US and British troops had been dropped into Marjah town for Operation Mushtarak ('together' in Dari), ahead of ground forces, a US Marines officer told AFP. 'At 0230 this morning (2200 GMT, 6am Singapore time), helicopters inserted combined forces into Marjah town,' said Lieutenant Josh Diddams, spokesman for the US Marines at Taskforce Leatherneck in Helmand. 'We are now moving forward on the ground and meeting minimal resistance,' he said. -- AFP

02-13-2010, 03:38 PM	#6
occallExtet Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 383 Senior Member	World Feb 13, 2010 Assault claims 1st casualties Thousands of US-led troops have begun a major offensive against one of the Taleban insurgents' last bastions in southern Afghanistan. --PHOTO: AFP MARJAH (Afghanistan) - A MASSIVE assault force taking on the Talrban in southern Afghanistan claimed its first kills on Saturday within hours of launching its biggest operation since US President Barack Obama's troop surge, an Afghan army commander said. Five Taleban militants were killed soon after US-led troops helicoptered into Marjah in the poppy-growing belt of Helmand province, said Sher Mohammad Zazai, commander of the Afghan Army's 205 Corps. 'According to initial reports, five enemy have been killed,' he said. 'Two were killed in one location, three in another. They were killed in face-to-face fighting,' he told reporters by video link from Helmand's capital of Lashkar Gah. Chinook helicopters filled the pre-dawn skies over Marjah as 15,000 troops led by US Marines launched the first major offensive since Mr Obama's new troop surge aimed at bringing an end to the eight-year war. Hundreds of Afghan, US and British troops had been dropped into Marjah town for Operation Mushtarak ('together' in Dari), ahead of ground forces, a US Marines officer told AFP. 'At 0230 this morning (2200 GMT, 6am Singapore time), helicopters inserted combined forces into Marjah town,' said Lieutenant Josh Diddams, spokesman for the US Marines at Taskforce Leatherneck in Helmand. 'We are now moving forward on the ground and meeting minimal resistance,' he said. -- AFP
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