Marines attack Taliban in southern Afghanistan town
Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan, and The Outskirts Of Marja, Afghanistan -- Thousands of U.S., British and Afghan troops moved to seize the Taliban stronghold of Marja early Saturday in what the Marine general leading the assault called a “big, strong and fast” offensive aimed at challenging the insurgency’s grip on a key southern Afghan province.
Waves of troops, ferried in by helicopters, descended on the farming districts that surround the town.
The commander, Marine Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson, had for weeks telegraphed the military’s plans for the offensive, one of the largest since the war began in 2001.
The United States and its allies hope the assault, the biggest joint operation by Western and Afghan troops to date, will prove a turning point in the conflict with the Taliban and other militants that have carved out swaths of territory in Afghanistan.
Military leaders expect about 7,500 coalition troops to occupy Marja by nightfall, with 7,500 more supporting the mission from elsewhere in the Nad Ali district of Helmand province.
Marines were led by battalions from Camp Pendleton in California, Camp Lejeune, N.C., and Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. Each Marine battalion was paired with an Afghan battalion.
The offensive is seen as a test both of the fighting spirit of the Afghan army and the ability of the government of President Hamid Karzai -- with the help of NATO forces and a large corps of civilian workers -- to quickly establish a working government in Marja, a town of about 85,000. As many as 1,000 Taliban and other insurgents took refuge in the town after being driven from a string of villages elsewhere in the Helmand River Valley.
The assault is the first major operation involving U.S. forces since President Obama’s decision late last year to deploy an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan. The buildup is part of an effort to turn the tide of the war before an American drawdown set to begin next year.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
