Afghanistan: Marines in Helmand province

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Gola Akar lifts his native <i>shalwar kameez</i> at the demand of an Afghan interpreter to ensure that he is not carrying weapons or wearing a suicide vest before surrounding Marines enter his compound to assess damage done during a month of fighting between Taliban forces and the Marines in the largely rural area of Garmser in Afghanistan's Helmand province.

Patrol

( Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times )

Gola Akar lifts his native shalwar kameez at the demand of an Afghan interpreter to ensure that he is not carrying weapons or wearing a suicide vest before surrounding Marines enter his compound to assess damage done during a month of fighting between Taliban forces and the Marines in the largely rural area of Garmser in Afghanistan's Helmand province.