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NATO takes on Taliban in south of Afghanistan
Tajikistan News.Net
Saturday 5th December, 2009
A major operation has been launched in southern Afghanistan against the Taliban.
The operation named Khareh Cobra, or Cobra's Anger, involves 1,050 NATO troops, involing 900 U.S. Marines and sailors and British forces, together with 150 Afghan soldiers and police.
The U.S. forces in the main comprise Marines from the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 7 and 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion.
The offensive, targeting a Taliban stronghold in the Now Zad valley of Helmand province, is programmed to catch and kill insurgents, seize weapons and explosives, including landmines and improvised explosive devices, and disrupt drug-running. Helmand province generates the largest share of Afghanistan's opium crop, which supplies 90% of the world's heroin.
Prior to the Taliban taking hold in Now Zad, the city was the second largest in Helmand Province. The city is now deserted as inhabitants fled the fighting. U.S. Marines have a company stationed there, along with 150 Afghan soldiers and police.
U.S. Central Command Chief General David Petraeus told AP Friday the offensive will lay the groundwork for the arrival of some 30,000 additional U.S. troops, many of whom will be deployed in the south.
General Petraeus said the military has been working for months to extend security around key towns in southern Afghanistan, where the Taliban influence is strong.
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