Thousands of US-led troops on Saturday launched the first major offensive against Taliban insurgents since US President Barack Obama began sending more troops to Afghanistan,
NATO said.
For the first time, Afghan soldiers are involved shoulder-to-shoulder with the international troops at the tip of the spear as they bring their fight to insurgents holding sway over
the Marjah district of Helmand province.
"The Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan announced today that key military 'clearing' operations for Operation Mushtarak have begun in central Helmand," NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.
"These 'clearing' operations follow the smaller-scaled 'shaping' operations that have helped set the conditions for this new phase of operations," it said, referring to weeks of build-up and
skirmishes with militants in the area.
US Marines are leading a combined force of 15,000, ISAF said, in Operation Mushtarak, meaning "together" in Dari, an assault aimed at undermining Taliban control over one of the world's biggest opium-producing regions.
Troops attack before dawn
Helicopter-borne US Marines and Afghan troops swooped down on the Taliban-held town of Marjah before dawn on Saturday, launching a long-expected attack with thousands of troops. to re-establish government control and undermine support for the militants in their southern heartland.
The attack on Marjah climaxed the biggest joint Afghan-international offensive of the war and is the largest combat operation since President Barack Obama ordered 30,000 US reinforcements last December to turn the tide of the war.
Marine commanders say they expect anywhere between 400 to 1,000 insurgents to be holed up inside this southern Afghan town of 80,000 people in Helmand province, including some foreign fighters.
The assault on Marjah, in one of the world's biggest opium-producing regions of Helmand province, is the first phase of a major operation to re-establish Afghan government control over the region.
Operation Mushtarak ("together" in Dari) is expected to be the biggest push against insurgents since President Barack Obama announced a new surge of US troops in Afghanistan, and is one of the biggest since the 2001 US-led invasion that ousted the Taliban regime.
Resdients flee in terror
Many of Marjah's population of around 80,000 fled ahead of the offensive to escape the violence.
But in recent days, militants who have moved into Marjah have prevented many others from leaving.
NATO helicopters dropped leaflets on the town and surrounding area - which has an estimated total population of 125,000 - warning people to remain indoors once the offensive began.
Radio broadcast messages telling people that the Afghan and international troops had come to rid their area of insurgents and that no civilians would be harmed.
Share
