KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghan national security forces with International Security Assistance Force partners conducted an operation east of Gavragay, Lashkar Gar District, Helmand province, Friday afternoon. Muhammad Yah, a senior Taliban commander in the Lashkar Gar area, was killed during this operation.
Continue reading "Senior Taliban Commander Killed in Lashkar Gar" »
KABUL, Afghanistan - A Taliban improvised explosive device facilitator was captured by an Afghan-international combined force in Logar this morning.
DELARAM, AFGHANISTAN -- Home to a dozen truck stops and a few hundred family farms bounded by miles of foreboding desert, this hamlet in southwestern Afghanistan is far from a strategic priority for senior officers at the international military headquarters in Kabul. One calls Delaram, a day's drive from the nearest city, "the end of the Earth." Another deems the area "unrelated to our core mission" of defeating the Taliban by protecting Afghans in their cities and towns.
KABUL, Afghanistan - An Afghan-international security force conducted an operation targeting militants while pursuing an al-Qaida commander in a rural area of the Asmar District of Kunar province early March 13.
Continue reading "Joint Force Operation Targets Al-Qaida Leader" »
KABUL, Afghanistan - An Afghan-international security force killed eight militants and captured a foreign fighter facilitator in Farah March 12. Three of the eight militants killed were identified as foreign fighters.
Musa Qala, in northern Helmand, will shortly become the first British base in Afghanistan to be handed on to US Marines.
BBC defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt visited the town to see whether there are any lessons to be learned.
Back in 2006, it seemed unlikely that the Taliban's then stronghold of Musa Qala, a centre of the opium trade, would be persuaded to listen to the voice of the Nato coalition and the Afghan government.
KABUL, Afghanistan – An Afghan-international security force searched a compound near the town of Senjaray in the Zharmi district of Kandahar province today after intelligence information indicated militant activity.
KABUL, Afghanistan – On Wednesday an international security force unit patrolling in southern Afghanistan came under small arms fire from an insurgent position. The patrol returned fire and requested support from ISAF aircraft. Reports from the patrol, after they inspected the area, confirmed that one insurgent had been killed.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Alfred de Montesquiou, an Associated Press correspondent embedded with U.S. Marines in the battle for the Afghan town of Marjah, was able to observe some of the lessons of the fighting and hear from the officers in command how they are being absorbed.
MARJAH, Afghanistan (AP) — After a day spent pinned down in gunbattles or caught in a maze of roadside bombs, with little hope of air support and an erratic Afghan army to coax along, Lance Cpl. Travis Anderson reflected on the frustrations of the campaign U.S. forces were fighting.
Continue reading "Marjah push: Ups and downs are lessons for future" »
The shooting is largely over in the Marjah area of southern Afghanistan that was recaptured by U.S. and Afghan forces last month. But a deadly threat remains: homemade bombs.
Continue reading "Armored Trucks Shield Marines From Taliban Bombs" »
NOW ZAD, AFGHANISTAN -- This southern Afghan city has been touted as a symbol of the progress U.S. troops have made in recent weeks. But when Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates swung through the main market on Tuesday, it seemed mostly to be a symbol of the work that remains to be done.
In the next stage in the Afghanistan war, coalition forces are expected to build up gradually on the outskirts of the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar, perhaps for months. That strategy departs from the one executed in the Marjah offensive, in which troops entered quickly.
Washington
The operation that American and coalition forces are planning for Kandahar in southern Afghanistan won’t look like D-Day, the top commander there said Tuesda
Continue reading "Afghanistan war: Fight for Kandahar won't be like fight for Marjah" »
Afghanistan - In Khowst last night, an Afghan-international security force searched a compound outside the village of Galyan, in the Sabari District after intelligence information indicated militant activity.
Yesterday I wrote a piece for Afghanistan Crossroads touching on the main challenge facing the coalition now that the fighting in Marjah has come to an end: winning over the local population.
Continue reading "From fighters to fixers: Marines woo villagers" »
Training and financial investment are critical to helping Afghanistan's security forces become self-sufficient, a senior participant in the effort said.
Continue reading "Training, Investment Create Sustainable Afghan Army" »
Operations in Helmand province will serve as a template for future operations elsewhere in Afghanistan, NATO's senior civilian representative here said today.
Continue reading "Helmand Will Serve As Template, NATO Official Says" »
The Taliban flag no longer flies over Marja, and the operations in the central region of Helmand province have lessons for the rest of Afghanistan, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in the country said today.
Continue reading "McChrystal Details Lessons of Marjah Offensive" »
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is visiting Afghanistan to get what he called the "ground truth" from service members.
Continue reading "Gates Seeks 'Ground Truth' in Afghanistan" »
WASHINGTON - Afghan troops, assisted by coalition forces, cordoned and searched an insurgent supply route used to transport and harbor roadside bombs in Afghanistan's Helmand province late last week.
Continue reading "Operation Combats Insurgents, Uncovers Weapons" »
KABUL, Afghanistan - An Afghan-international security force searched a compound in a rural area northeast of Khowst City, in the Sabari District of Khowst province, after intelligence information indicated militant activity. During the search the joint force detained a few suspected insurgents for further questioning.
A campaign has begun to lure residents back to war-ravaged Now Zad in Helmand province, with Marine and Afghan guards posted 24 hours a day to ward off Taliban attacks.
Reporting from Now Zad, Afghanistan — Under a late winter sky, surrounded by mountains left verdant by recent rain showers, is one of Afghanistan's spookiest-looking and most dangerous places: the once-vibrant but now war-ravaged and virtually empty city of Now Zad.
Continue reading "Signs of life return to an Afghan ghost town" »
MARJA, Afghanistan — Once a Taliban refuge, Marja has come a long way since the Marines invaded four weeks ago, so much so that the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, arrived Sunday with top American and Afghan officials to speak to several hundred residents crammed inside a mosque.
KABUL, Afghanistan – An Afghan-international force captured a Taliban weapons facilitator in Ghazni province last night.
The impetus for the U.S.-led assault on Marjah began one moonless night last May when a squad of American and Afghan anti-narcotics agents, backed by U.S. Marines, slipped through the town's empty streets and raided the Lachoya opium bazaar.
Continue reading "Afghan Drug Trade Complicates U.S. Task in Marjah" »
The Marines in a recent “cultural awareness” class scribbled careful notes as the instructor coached them on do’s and don’ts when talking to villagers in Afghanistan: Don’t start by firing off questions, do break the ice by playing with the children, don’t let your interpreter hijack the conversation.
Continue reading "Letting Women Reach Women In Afghan War" »
CAMP DWYER, Helmand province, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan – The ordnance technicians for Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367 "Scarface," Marine Aircraft Group 40, Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan, sat and waited for the troops-in-contact call, and when it came, without hesitation, they sprinted through the gravel toward the helicopter landing zones to arm aircraft and get them back into action for combat operations in Marjah.
Continue reading "Right to Bear Arms: Ordnance Marines Arm MAG-40" »
KABUL, Afghanistan - The commander of NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan has issued new rules governing night raids, acknowledging that although they can have value militarily, they also can foster ill will toward international forces on the part of the Afghan people.
Continue reading "Command Issues New Rules for Night Raids in Afghanistan" »
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — With its first groups of Marines leaving home Friday for the military surge into Afghanistan, the 1st Marine Division gathered this week to honor its combat heritage and march off again to war.
Continue reading "Off to war again for 1st Marine Division" »
KABUL, Afghanistan – An Afghan-international security force searched a compound south of the village of Chalghowi, in the Panjwa'I district of Kandahar province last night after intelligence information indicated militant activity.
KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghanistan National Security Forces with International Security and Assistance Force partners killed a Taliban commander in Northern Helmand Feb. 20. He was involved with the facilitation of improvised explosive device components and the planning of Taliban attacks.
Continue reading "Leading Taliban Facilitator Killed in Afghan Operation" »
FARAH PROVINCE, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan – There are many stories surrounding the area in southern Afghanistan known as the Buji Bhast Pass. The pass has proven to be a strategic military stronghold and allowed Afghans to delay the armies of Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan and the former Soviet Union.
Continue reading "3/4 kick starts effort to hold the Buji Bhast Pass" »
KABUL, Afghanistan – ISAF and Afghan forces have recently observed militants using infants as human shields during hostile acts against Afghan and international forces operating throughout Afghanistan.
Continue reading "Taliban Seen Using Infants As Human Shields" »
KABUL, Afghanistan - An Afghan-international security force searched a rural compound and detained two suspected insurgents outside of Marja, in the Nad-e Ali District of Helmand province after intelligence information indicated militant activity.
Coalition Prepares to Establish New Military Headquarters in South Before Major Surge Offensive
WASHINGTON—The U.S. and its allies are working to create a new American-led military command in southern Afghanistan, setting the stage for a large-scale offensive into the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar.
OCEANSIDE - In a symbolic 30-minute Camp Pendleton ceremony on Wednesday, attended by 1st Marine Division veterans from various eras and marking the impending departure of some 7,000 Marines and sailors from the division to Afghanistan, Maj. Gen. Richard Mills said this and past deployments are not about commanding generals.
Continue reading "Pendleton Marines set to deploy to Afghanistan" »
Despite Rehab, the Yellow Lab Won't Sniff For Bombs in Combat; He's 'a Lover'
CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan—When the Marines cry "Havoc!" and let slip the dogs of war, one remains in his kennel. Quivering.
Continue reading "Even His Red Squeak Toy Can't Get First Sgt. Gunner, USMC, to Fight" »
The coalition's Marjah offensive against the Taliban in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, has made gains. But to succeed, Afghanistan, the US, and aid agencies must quickly move in to build up the area's security, government, and infrastructure, showing fence-sitters the benefits of peace.
As the US Marjah offensive in Afghanistan, winds down, the next challenge will be to maintain the newfound security of the area and to begin to reintegrate former Taliban fighters into Afghan society.
Continue reading "As Marjah offensive ends, a crucial test for peace in Afghanistan" »
KABUL, Afghanistan - An Afghan-international patrol found a weapons cache in the Nad-e Ali District of Helmand province while supporting Operation Moshtarak yesterday.
MARJAH, Afghanistan — Even by Afghan standards, it was a startling find: An opium packaging workshop, buried under donkey dung and old hay in a stable that U.S. Marines turned into a patrol base in southern Afghanistan.
Continue reading "Taliban, not drugs, focus of US-Afghan offensive" »
CAMP DELARAM II, Afghanistan — While gentle winds blew through the rotors of a CH-53 D helicopter, the final group of Regimental Combat Team 2 Marines and sailors dismounted, completing the unit's transition into Camp Delaram II, Feb. 27.
Continue reading "RCT-2 Puts Boots on Ground in Afghanistan" »
KABUL, Afghanistan - An Afghan national security force and International Security Assistance Force team captured the southern Nad-e-Ali Taliban commander during a joint operation in Nad-e-Ali, Helmand province, March 2.
KABUL, Afghanistan - An Afghan-international security force searched a compound in a rural area of the Nawah-ye Barakzai District, Helmand province after intelligence information indicated militant activity. During the search the security forces detained a couple of suspected insurgents.
MARJA, AFGHANISTAN -- The initial phase of the military offensive in southern Afghanistan to wrest Marja from insurgent control has largely ended, but the more daunting task of building a credible government in the place of Taliban rule has just begun, according to senior U.S. and Afghan officials.
KABUL, Afghanistan - While progress is taking place in southern Afghanistan following Operation Moshtarak, insurgent attacks have continued to harm civilians and impact their freedom of movement in Kandahar and Helmand.
Continue reading "Insurgent Attacks Continue to Take Toll on Civilians" »
When the U.S. military began its counterinsurgency offensive in Afghanistan's Helmand River valley last summer, some 4,000 Marines took part in the operation aside about 300 Afghan forces.
Continue reading "Marjah Effort Shows Values, Flaws Of Afghan Forces" »
MARJA, AFGHANISTAN -- The initial phase of the military offensive in southern Afghanistan to wrest Marja from insurgent control has largely ended, but the more daunting task of building a credible government in the place of Taliban rule has just begun, according to senior U.S. and Afghan officials.
FARAH PROVINCE, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan – Before coalition forces can leave Afghanistan, they must first make sure the government has a reliable and proficient fighting force. Without one, the country is vulnerable to invasion and insurrection.
Continue reading "3/4 Preparing Afghan National Security Forces for Success" »
Before Marines go overseas, they must learn skills beyond their primary job and be ready for deployment.
Continue reading "Afghanistan Bound, MTACS Marines Train to Fight" »
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Combined Afghan-international operations in Afghanistan have killed several insurgents in recent days and led to drug and weapons confiscations, military officials reported.
Continue reading "Combined Forces Net Drugs, Weapons in Afghanistan" »
In southern Afghanistan, U.S. Marines and their Afghan counterparts are tightening their hold on the Taliban stronghold of Marjah. Each day, troops are uncovering weapons caches left behind by Taliban fighters who ran away or are hiding among the local population.
Continue reading "Taliban Flees Marjah, Threat Remains For Marines" »
FORWARD OPERATING BASE CAFERETTA, Nimruz province, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan – As improvised explosive devices continue to be a threat in the region as the Taliban's weapon of choice, coalition forces continue to adapt their ways of dealing with them.
Continue reading "Improvised Explosive Device Detection Program for the Dogs" »
The top Marine commander says Afghan troops, overall, exceeded his expectations. But there is still a need for more training.
Reporting from Marja, Afghanistan - The Afghan troops who supported the U.S. Marines in the battle to end Taliban control of this town in Helmand province showed marked improvement over last summer's performance in a similar fight but still need much more training, Marine commanders say.
Continue reading "Afghan soldiers show improvement in Marja assault" »
MARJAH, Afghanistan -- One by one, the men of Marjah tentatively approached the high-ranking Afghan official with their complaints.
Continue reading "Residents of Marjah wary of U.S. after Taliban ouster" »
KABUL — As U.S. and Afghan forces squeeze the last fighters from the Taliban stronghold of Marjah, the coalition is preparing to move against the next target: Kandahar, the country's second-largest city and birthplace of the jihadist movement, U.S. commanders say.
The Marine Corps’ footprint in Afghanistan has expanded to include 15,000 Marines, the service’s top general said, and another battalion is expected to deploy soon.
SEMITAY BAZAAR, Afghanistan — After the declaration this weekend that the battle for the Taliban enclave of Marja had been won, for the Marines standing behind sandbags and walking patrols, the more complicated work has begun. With it will be a test of the strategy selected by President Obama and the generals now running the Afghan war.
Continue reading "With Marja Largely Won, Marines Try to Win Trust" »
MARJAH, Afghanistan — More than 2,000 U.S. Marines and about 1,000 Afghan troops who stormed the Taliban town of Marjah as part of a major NATO offensive against a resurgent Taliban will stay for the next several months to help ensure insurgents don't return, Marine commanders said Sunday.
Continue reading "Marines, Afghan troops to be stationed in Marjah" »
Even as Marines in Afghanistan continued to fight for control of the Taliban stronghold of Marja, senior Obama administration officials said Friday that the United States has begun initial planning for a bigger, more complex offensive in Kandahar later this year.
Continue reading "In Afghanistan, U.S. plans major push into Kandahar" »
MARJAH, Afghanistan - Marines and Afghan troops who fought through the centre of Marjah linked up Saturday with American soldiers on the northern edge of the former Taliban stronghold, clearing the town's last major pocket of resistance.
The United States plans to launch a new military operation later this year to seize Kandahar city in southern Afghanistan from Taliban control, a senior Obama administration official says.
Continue reading "US plan to seize Afghanistan town from Taliban" »
MARJAH, Afghanistan — Just a few dozen yards from the bullet-riddled government building, Marine Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson found more proof Saturday that the battle for Marjah was over.
Continue reading "Normalcy takes root in Marjah after allied offensive" »
MARJAH, Afghanistan (AP) -- U.S. and Afghan forces say they have cleared the last major pocket of resistance from the former Taliban stronghold of Marjah.
Continue reading "US, Afghan forces clear last parts of Taliban area" »
BADULA QULP, Afghanistan – The battalion commander pondered the question: How much is a tree worth?
Continue reading "Afghans give US soldiers a run for their money" »
MARJAH, Afghanistan -- When U.S. Marines find suspicious powder that could be made into a bomb, they probe it with sophisticated tests. Afghan soldiers have their own method - they taste it.
Continue reading "Afghan army improving, not ready to go it alone" »
Two days before launching the most ambitious military campaign of the Obama Administration, General Stanley McChrystal, commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, convened a meeting in Kabul of 450 tribal elders and scholars from Helmand province. The general's objective: to build support for Operation Moshtarak, a massive offensive on the Taliban stronghold of Marjah. McChrystal ran through the military phase of the plan, which would involve 6,000 U.S. Marines and British soldiers and 4,500 Afghan troops and police. Then he described how these troops would protect the town while a "government in a box" — a corps of Afghan officials who had been training for this moment for months — would start administering the town. The elders all signed off on the plan, but not before one of them warned the American general, "You have to understand that if you don't do what you say, we'll all be killed."
The biggest threat to Marines assaulting the Taliban stronghold of Marjah, Afghanistan, isn’t improvised explosive devices, but sniper fire, the Marine Corps’ top officer said Wednesday.
Continue reading "Snipers are top threat in Marjah, Conway says" »
Flag-raising ceremony held as troops mop up last pockets of resistance
MARJAH, Afghanistan - The Afghan government took official control of the southern Taliban stronghold of Marjah on Thursday, installing an administrator and raising the national flag while U.S.-led troops worked to root out final pockets of militants.
Continue reading "Afghan government claims Taliban stronghold" »
MARJAH, Afghanistan : US-led troops were inching closer to declaring victory over a Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan as a senior commander said Wednesday militant resistance had fallen dramatically.
Continue reading "US-led troops inch close to victory in Afghan assault" »
At least 24,000 people have fled since the assault on the Taliban began. Each passing day is a countdown to ruin for farm families.
Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan - In wind-whipped tents, makeshift shelters and overcrowded family compounds, Afghans who fled the battleground town of Marja are asking themselves and one another: When will it be safe to go home?
Continue reading "Afghans displaced by Marja offensive fret in a cold limbo" »
ABC News' Miguel Marquez Embedded With Marines in Marja, Afghanistan
It's a remarkable combination of psychological warfare, political roundtable and trash-talking. Afghan soldiers and Taliban fighters taunt each other, debate each other and try to persuade each other almost daily over their radios, at times while even shooting at each other.
Continue reading "Trash Talking the Taliban During Firefights" »
The Afghan government took official control of the southern Taliban stronghold of Marjah on Thursday as Nato troops worked to root out final pockets of militants.
More than 100 Marines and their Afghan counterparts are pushing into a neighborhood they say is the last significant stronghold of insurgents.
Marines are starting a push to clear the last pockets of Taliban insurgents from Marjah.
Continue reading "Marines Clearing Last Taliban Pockets In Marjah" »
KABUL, Afghanistan - The last 24 hours have seen fewer engagements with insurgents. Despite this relative calm, IEDs and insurgent gunmen continue to pose a threat to civilians and security forces.
HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Soldiers from the Route Clearance Platoon, 162nd Engineer Company, 105th Engineer Battalion, Oregon National Guard, worked to remove any IEDs on Route "Cowboys," in Garmsir District, Helmand province, Afghanistan, Feb. 14-16.
MARJA, AFGHANISTAN -- The Afghan official responsible for governing Marja paid his first visit to this strife-torn community Monday, imploring residents to forsake the Taliban and promising employment programs as an inducement for local men to put down their weapons.
Continue reading "Afghan official who will govern Marja pays first visit, makes plea to residents" »
MARJAH, Afghanistan—The new Afghan government administrator of Marjah moved into town Tuesday, the most overt sign so far that the fierce military campaign to oust the Taliban is beginning to give way to the civilian campaign to win over the locals with economic aid and public services.
Continue reading "Government Administrator Arrives in Marjah" »
MARJAH, Afghanistan -- Bouwudin courteously greeted the Afghan and American officers who came to meet him, offering tea and eventually a meal as the meeting lingered on. No amount of invitations could get him to walk a few hundred yards to the Marines base.
Continue reading "US offensive yet to persuade Afghans in key town" »
The Marine Corps will have another battalion in Afghanistan within the next 10 days, swelling Marine forces in southern Afghanistan to more than 12,000 Marines.
Continue reading "1/2 to deploy from Lejeune to Afghanistan" »
Snipers, bombs slow progress
Senior defense and military officials said Monday that the U.S. and allied military offensive in southern Afghanistan is making steady progress although it has been slowed by resistance from insurgents.
CAMP DWYER, Helmand province, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan – The Marines of Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367, who reside at Camp Dwyer, know their detachment may be small, but that they provide the necessary air power for Marine Aircraft Group 40 and Regimental Combat Team 7, both with Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan.
Continue reading "Scarface Detachment Offers Quicker Response for RCT-7" »
KABUL -- The arrests of key Taliban leaders in Pakistan and slow but steady progress on the battlefield of Helmand province have offered the first flicker of hope in years that the U.S. and its allies may be able to check the rise of an insurgency that seemed unstoppable only a few months ago.
Continue reading "Finally, a glimmer of hope for US in Afghan war" »
It's the second week of a major U.S.-led offensive in southern Afghanistan to expel the Taliban from a key stronghold in Helmand province.
Continue reading "Taliban Resistance Strong In Southern Afghanistan" »
A year ago, the mention of Marja, a speck on the map in southern Afghanistan, would have drawn befuddled stares in the Pentagon.
Continue reading "Battle for Marja not only militarily significant" »
US-led forces fighting to clear a Taliban stronghold in south Afghanistan are making "steady progress", the most senior US military commander says.
Adm Mike Mullen said the operation in the town of Marjah in Helmand province was "messy... but that doesn't mean that it's not worth the cost".
Continue reading "US-led troops make 'steady progress' in Marjah" »
Less than two weeks into the Marjah offensive in Afghanistan, an Afghan governor flew into town on Monday and began holding meetings.
Kabul, Afghanistan
The shots haven’t even died away in one of NATO’s biggest offensives of its nine-year war in Afghanistan, but US State Department officials are already rushing in Afghan government staff as part of the ambitious next phase of Operation Moshtarak.
Continue reading "Marjah offensive: New Afghan governor takes office as battle rages" »
MARJAH, Afghanistan—Ten days into the fight for Marjah, U.S. and Afghan troops continue to seize ground, often battling the Taliban from one mud-walled compound to the next. But progress has been slower in winning over local civilians, many of whom are unsure which side will make life safer for their families.
Continue reading "Progress in Marjah, But Civilian Trust Elusive" »
For more than a week, CNN International Correspondent Atia Abawi has been embedded with U.S. Marines who are working alongside Afghan soldiers to rout out Taliban forces from the southern Afghan province of Marjah. Abawi filed this inside look at Operation Moshtarak:
It's been over a week now since Operation Moshtarak began here in southern Afghanistan. The city of Marjah shakes with the sound of improvised explosive devices, most of them set off by controlled explosions. Between IED blasts, the air is filled with the sounds of whizzing bullets, booming mortars, clacking helicopters, and other noises of war that I can't even express in writing.
Continue reading "Reporter's diary: Inside Operation Moshtarak" »
KABUL, Afghanistan — The current U.S.-led military operation in Helmand province is a trial run for what could be the decisive clash with the Taliban in Afghanistan this summer in the area that is its spiritual home — Kandahar .
Continue reading "Next big combat mission in Afghanistan will target Kandahar" »
President Hamid Karzai's emotional appeal before lawmakers comes after a report that a man was mistakenly killed a day earlier in the operation to oust the Taliban from Marja.
Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan - Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Saturday made an emotional appeal for coalition troops to strive to prevent civilian deaths as a major offensive in the south by U.S., British and Afghan troops entered its second week.
Continue reading "Afghan leader urges coalition troops to curb civilian deaths" »
MARJA, AFGHANISTAN -- On the satellite photographs of Marja that Marines scrutinized before launching a massive assault against the Taliban a week ago, what they assumed was the municipal government center appeared to be a large, rectangular building, cater-cornered from the main police station.
Continue reading "As Marja assault progresses, coalition considers challenges in rebuilding area" »
MARJA, Afghanistan — Since the American-led offensive into the last large Taliban enclave in Helmand Province began nine days ago, local Afghans have faced a dangerous and uncertain world.
Continue reading "Afghans Voice Their Fears Amid Marja Campaign" »
Fighter jets, drone and attack helicopters focus on part of city
MARJAH, Afghanistan - Outnumbered and outgunned, Taliban fighters are mounting a tougher fight than expected in Marjah, Afghan officials said Sunday, as U.S.-led forces converged on a pocket of militants in a western section of the town.
Continue reading "Marines target Taliban holdouts in Marjah" »
In a low, tan building in Nevada, Air Force personnel sit in padded chairs and control aircraft over Iraq and Afghanistan. They are 7,500 miles away, yet feel more affected by war than ever.
Reporting from Creech Air Force Base, Nev. - From his apartment in Las Vegas, Sam Nelson drove to work through the desert along wind-whipped Highway 95 toward Indian Springs. Along the way, he tuned in to XM radio and tried to put aside the distractions of daily life -- bills, rent, laundry -- and get ready for work.
Continue reading "Drone pilots have a front-row seat on war, from half a world away" »
KABUL, Afghanistan – An Afghan-international security force detained a militant while pursuing a Taliban facilitator in the town of Alikhel, in the Muhammad Aghah district, Logar province this morning.
Marines and Afghan troops fight to clear holdout insurgents from one corner of the city in southern Afghanistan. NATO says there is another casualty among Western troops, bringing the total to 13.
Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan, and Nawa, Afghanistan -- Backed by fighter jets and attack helicopters, U.S. Marines and Afghan troops closed in on an insurgent-ridden sector of Marja on Sunday, the ninth day of a coalition bid to wrest control of the southern Afghan town from the Taliban.
Continue reading "Military sweep of Marja focuses on pocket of 'determined resistance'" »
Nawa's district governor, upset by the unresponsive provincial government, pleads with residents not to become disenchanted and ally with insurgents.
Reporting from Nawa, Afghanistan — Haji Abdul Manaf, the district governor for this region of Helmand Province, was incensed.
Continue reading "Afghans frustrated in bid to remake Taliban-free towns" »
NATO Forces Face 'Determined Resistance'
MARJAH, Afghanistan -- Marines and Afghan units converged Sunday on a dangerous western quarter of the Taliban stronghold of Marjah, with NATO forces facing "determined resistance" as their assault on the southern town entered its second week.
Continue reading "Marines Converge On Taliban Holdouts In Marjah" »
MARJAH, Afghanistan—The Taliban grenade that whizzed overhead was John Kael Weston's first indication that this town might not be ready for an influx of diplomats, agriculturalists and economic-development specialists.
Continue reading "Taliban Resistance Stalls New Rule in Marjah" »
KABUL, Afghanistan – A civilian was killed in Nad-e Ali yesterday morning after an ISAF patrol believed he was carrying an IED toward them.
Continue reading "Afghan Civilian Accidentally Killed in Helmand" »
Marjah, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Foreign and Afghan forces encountered stiff resistance Saturday as their offensive in southern Afghanistan entered its second week, and a civilian was mistakenly shot dead.
Continue reading "Taliban put up stiff resistance to U.S.-led offensive in Afghanistan" »
ARJA, Afghanistan — As American Marines and Afghan soldiers have fought their way into this Taliban stronghold, the performance of the Afghan troops has tested a core premise of the American military effort here: in the not-too-distant future, the security of this country can be turned over to indigenous forces created at the cost of American money and blood.
Continue reading "Marines Do Heavy Lifting as Afghan Army Lags in Battle" »
HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan – A patrol of Marines and Sailors of Combined Anti-Armor Team 1 and Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, held their first impromptu meeting with village elders in the "Five Points" area Feb. 14, and only moments later came under hostile fire from Taliban attackers.
Continue reading "Marines Near Marjah Hold First Meeting With Elders, Kill Taliban Attackers" »
MARJAH, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Afghan police were deployed on Saturday in an area recaptured from the Taliban by U.S. Marines this week, in the early phase of a plan to put the country firmly under the control of Afghan authorities.
Continue reading "Afghan police deployed in wake of NATO offensive" »
MARJA, AFGHANISTAN -- They had slogged through knee-deep mud carrying 100 pounds of gear, fingers glued to the triggers of their M-4 carbines, all the while on the lookout for insurgents. Now, after five near-sleepless nights, trying to avoid hypothermia in freezing temperatures, the grunts of the 1st Battalion of the 6th Marine Regiment finally had a moment to relax.
Continue reading "In Marja, it's war the old-fashioned way" »
KABUL, Afghanistan – An Afghan-international patrol found a weapons cache in the Nurgaram district of Nuristan province last night.
MARJAH, Afghanistan—The Taliban grenade that whizzed overhead was John Kael Weston's first indication that this embattled town might not be ready for an influx of diplomats, agriculturalists and economic-development specialists.
Continue reading "Troops Face Pockets of Resistance in Marjah" »
MARJAH, Afghanistan – After a fierce gunfight, U.S. Marines seized a strongly defended compound Friday that appears to have been a Taliban headquarters — complete with photos of fighters posing with their weapons, dozens of Taliban-issued ID cards and graduation diplomas from a training camp in Pakistan.
Continue reading "US Marines seize Taliban headquarters, IDs, photos" »
Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan — Following the deadliest day yet for coalition forces seeking to drive the Taliban from the town of Marja in southern Afghanistan, U.S. Marines took aim Friday at the threat posed by insurgent snipers.
Continue reading "Marines in Marja focus on sniper threat" »
The Marines have been ordered not to treat Afghans roughly. When making an arrest, they are instructed to ask their suspect to voluntarily go with them. Most do.
Reporting from Spin Ghar, Afghanistan - The three men were blindfolded, their hands bound in front of them with plastic flex cuffs, and each was in the firm grip of a Marine. Their loose-fitting clothes were faded and dusty, their thick beards beginning to show gray.
Continue reading "In Afghanistan, Marines handling detainees by the book" »
MARJAH, Afghanistan - Two U.S. helicopters dropped elite Marine recon teams behind Taliban lines before dawn Friday as the U.S.-led force stepped up operations to break resistance on the seventh day of fighting in the besieged militant stronghold of Marjah.
KABUL, Afghanistan - An Afghan-international security patrol found a large weapons cache in the Now Zad District of Helmand last night.
Continue reading "Joint Force Finds Large Cache in Now Zad" »
KABUL, Afghanistan - For the U.S. Marines, including Justin Blancas of Mount Prospect, who are deployed to the battlefields of southern Afghanistan, life is fragile and thoughts focus on the day they see their families again. But something about this war is different.
Continue reading "Local Marine in Afghanistan: 'I just have to stay alive'" »
MARJAH, Afghanistan (Reuters) - It's only been six days since NATO launched a major assault against the Taliban and some Afghans are already asking Marines when they can reopen their shops.
Continue reading "Marines still looking over shoulder for Taliban" »
MARJA, Afghanistan — In five days of fighting, the Taliban have shown a side not often seen in nearly a decade of American military action in Afghanistan: the use of snipers, both working alone and integrated into guerrilla-style ambushes.
Continue reading "Snipers Imperil U.S.-Led Forces in Afghan Offensive" »
US Marines moving from the north of Marjah have joined up with US troops who were dropped into the area by helicopter four days ago, helping to increase their control over a crucial area known as the “Pork Chop”.
Continue reading "US forces move swiftly to take control of region north of Marjah" »
MARJAH, Afghanistan — Military commanders raised the Afghan flag in the bullet-ridden main market of the Taliban's southern stronghold of Marjah on Wednesday as firefights continued to break out elsewhere in the town between holed-up militants and U.S. and Afghan troops.
Continue reading "Afghan army raises flag on embattled Taliban town" »
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Combined Afghan and international forces uncovered weapons caches and detained suspected insurgents during multiple operations in Afghanistan Feb. 17.
Continue reading "Afghanistan Operations Seize Suspects, Weapons" »
MARJAH, Afghanistan — Taliban fighters holding out in Marjah are increasingly using civilians as human shields, firing from compounds where U.S. and Afghan forces can clearly see women and children on rooftops or in windows, Afghan and U.S. troops said Wednesday.
Continue reading "Embattled Afghan Taliban rely on human shields" »
HOLLADAY -- American and Pakistani forces captured one of Osama Bin Ladin's right-hand men in Pakistan this week. The U.S. military is calling his capture a turning point in the war, and a Marine from Utah played a big role in the arrest.
Continue reading "Utah Marine played role in capture of Taliban leader" »
Lt Col Cal Worth, who commands one of two Marine battalions leading the offensive against Taliban fighters here, set off at 7am on Wednesday for the return journey to his battalion headquarters from a combat outpost less than four miles away.
MARJAH, Afghanistan – Marines moving by land from the north linked up Tuesday with U.S. units that have faced nearly constant Taliban attack in the four days since they were dropped by helicopter into this insurgent stronghold in southern Afghanistan.
Continue reading "Marines link up in Afghan Taliban stronghold" »
MARJAH, Afghanistan—U.S. Marines and Afghan soldiers seized the site of Marjah's government offices, setting the stage for Kabul to attempt to resume its authority in a town long run by the Taliban.
Continue reading "Site of Marjah Government Offices Seized" »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Taliban's top military commander, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, has been captured in Pakistan in a joint raid by Pakistani and U.S. spy agencies, a U.S. official said on Monday, confirming a report of the capture in The New York Times.
Continue reading "Taliban commander captured in Pakistan: U.S. officials" »
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan — If everything runs true to current form, Canadian Brig.-Gen. Daniel Menard will soon loudly announce a major combat operation in Kandahar that will look a lot like the one launched by NATO on Saturday in neighbouring Helmand — which came after weeks of very public propaganda about when and where it was going to take place.
Continue reading "NATO's Afghan war effort likely to soon shift to Kandahar" »
MARJAH, Afghanistan — U.S. and Afghan forces traded gunfire with insurgents shooting from haystacks in poppy fields in the Taliban stronghold of Marjah as they pressed ahead in NATO's assault on the militants' heartland in southern Afghanistan.
Continue reading "Marines: Taliban resistance more disorganized" »
MARJA, AFGHANISTAN -- For the Marines of Charlie Company's 3rd Platoon, Sunday's mission was simple enough: Head west for a little more than a mile to link up with Alpha Company in preparation for a mission to secure the few ramshackle government buildings in this farming community.
Continue reading "The Marines move on Marja: A perilous slog against Afghanistan's Taliban" »
MARJAH, Afghanistan—U.S. Marines sent reinforcements to a beleaguered outpost where insurgent fighters were using women and children to carry weapons and shield their attacks on coalition forces.
Continue reading "U.S., Afghan Troops Battle Snipers in Marjah Offensive" »
MARJAH, Afghanistan—It is hard to know whether Monday was a very bad day or a very good day for Lance Cpl. Andrew Koenig.
Continue reading "U.S. Marine Walks Away From Shot to Helmet in Afghanistan" »
MARJA, Afghanistan — Ten minutes after walking out of the small outpost on Monday morning, the Marines of Company K were ambushed again.
Continue reading "Soldiers Keep Up Push in Taliban Stronghold" »
HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan – When a 4-year-old Afghan girl named Azerha was struck by shrapnel Feb. 10, her brother Quassiam did the only thing he could think of – approach a group of armed Marines miles away and ask for medical assistance.
Continue reading "Navy Corpsmen Save Injured Afghan Girl in Marjah" »
Readiness officers prepare the families of isle Marines to cope with wartime stress
With about 1,000 "Lava Dogs" from the Kaneohe Marine Corps base participating in the battle for Marjah, Afghanistan, base officials here are providing information and comfort to the Marines' worried loved ones back home.
MARJA, AFGHANISTAN -- U.S. Marines and Afghan soldiers encountered pockets of stiff resistance and extensive minefields as they sought to press into this Taliban sanctuary in southern Afghanistan on Saturday.
MARJA, Afghanistan — An errant American rocket strike on Sunday hit a compound crowded with Afghan civilians in the last Taliban stronghold in Helmand Province, killing at least 10 people, including 5 children, military officials said.
Continue reading "Errant U.S. Rocket Strike Kills Civilians in Afghanistan" »
Feb. 14 (Bloomberg) -- U.S.-led forces encountered sniper fire and remote-controlled bombs as they fought for a second day to clear a Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan, NATO and Afghan officials said.
Continue reading "U.S. Troops Encounter Snipers, Bombs in Afghanistan Offensive" »
MARJAH, Afghanistan—Taliban insurgents tried to overrun a U.S. Marine outpost with a combination of rocket-propelled grenades and suicide bombers in a brazen attack just after sundown on Sunday.
Continue reading "U.S. and Afghan Troops Expand Control in Marjah" »
On the offensive's second full day of fighting, Afghan officials say 27 insurgents have been killed. NATO reports 12 civilian deaths from a rocket strike and suspends use of the weapons involved.
Reporting from outside Marja and Kabul, Afghanistan — Insurgent holdouts in the town of Marja on Sunday aimed sporadic but sometimes intense fire at U.S. Marines and Afghan troops seeking to solidify their hold on the southern Afghan town.
Continue reading "Marines, Afghan troops seek to secure their hold on Marja" »
Marjah, Afghanistan (CNN) -- The Taliban put up a stiff resistance Sunday, as a coalition assault against the militant group entered its second day in southern Afghanistan.
Continue reading "Troops, Taliban battle for second day in Afghan offensive" »
MARJAH, Afghanistan (AP) — It could take weeks to reclaim the Taliban stronghold of Marjah, a top Marine commander said Sunday as thousands of U.S. troops and Afghan soldiers fought for a second day in NATO's most ambitious effort yet to break the militants' grip on Afghanistan's dangerous south.
Continue reading "Marine commander says it could take weeks to fully reclaim Taliban haven" »
MARJAH, Afghanistan — Thousands of U.S. Marines and Afghan soldiers stormed the Taliban stronghold of Marjah before dawn Saturday, sweeping by air and ground against scattered resistance into the biggest southern town under militant control. The massive offensive was aimed at breaking the Taliban grip over a wide area of their southern heartland.
Continue reading "US, Afghan troops sweep into Taliban stronghold" »
MARJA, Afghanistan — The helicopters landed before dawn Saturday in a poppy field beside a row of mud-walled compounds. The Marines ran into the darkness and crouched through the rotor-whipped dust as their aircraft lifted away.
LASHKAR GAR, Afghanistan -- U.S. Marines and Afghan forces were airlifted over the Taliban-laid minefields into the center of town in Marjah Saturday, apparently surprising the insurgents and taking strategic positions from them, according to military officials.
Continue reading "Surprise tactic in Afghanistan offensive befuddles Taliban" »
Marjah, Afghanistan (CNN) -- The major coalition assault against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan claimed the lives of two coalition troops, but military officials regard the hours-old push in war-ravaged Helmand province as very promising.
Continue reading "Coalition troops find 'minimal interference' in assault on Taliban" »
MARJAH, Afghanistan (Reuters) - U.S. Marines spearheaded one of NATO's biggest offensives against the Taliban in Afghanistan on Saturday, in an early test of President Barack Obama's troop surge policy.
Continue reading "Marines spearhead major Afghanistan offensive" »
OUTSIDE MARJA and KABUL, Afghanistan _ Picking their way through a dense tangle of homemade bombs, U.S. Marines on Saturday seized key positions in the Taliban stronghold of Marja, as thousands of coalition troops consolidated their hold on a wide swath of desert and farm territory surrounding the southern Afghan town.
2 NATO troops, at least 20 insurgents reported killed on first day of assault
MARJAH, Afghanistan - Bombs and booby traps slowed the advance of thousands of U.S. Marines and Afghan soldiers moving Saturday through the Taliban-controlled town of Marjah — NATO's most ambitious effort yet to break the militants' grip over their southern heartland.
More than 1,000 British troops engaged in the launch of Operation Moshtarak in Afghanistan have secured their "key objectives", the Ministry of Defence has said.
Continue reading "Anti-Taliban Attack: 'Key Objectives Secured'" »
HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan – The troops awoke from their tarp-covered fighting holes, Feb. 10, to find a blanket of frost, covering everything around them. Their boots, flak jackets, helmets and anything else exposed to the elements served as a frozen consequence of sleeping outside in the harsh desert of Helmand, province Afghanistan during the wintertime.
Continue reading "Marines, Afghan Soldiers Take on Harsh Weather Conditions in Helmand Province" »
For the assault on Marja in southern Afghanistan, Marines are drilled yet again about the inadvertent killing of civilians, which could undermine what they are trying to accomplish.
Reporting from The Outskirts Of Marja, Afghanistan - The Marines of Charlie Company had just landed outside Marja and were itching for the fight with the Taliban when they learned that a group of Afghans with shovels and wheelbarrows were digging holes in the road nearby.
Continue reading "Marines' life-and-death decisions in the 'fighting hole'" »
The long-discussed operation against the Taliban in Marja is one of the biggest of the war. Along with targeting the insurgents' grip on Helmand province, it's a test of the Afghan army's abilities.
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.
Continue reading "Marines launch offensive in southern Afghanistan town" »
MARJA, Afghanistan — Thousands of American, Afghan and British troops attacked the watery Taliban fortress of Marja early Saturday, moving by land and through the air to destroy the insurgency’s largest haven and begin a campaign to reassert the dominance of the Afghan government across a large arc of southern Afghanistan.
CAMP LEATHERNECK, AFGHANISTAN -- Thousands of U.S. Marines and Afghan soldiers traveling in helicopters and mine-resistant vehicles began punching into a key Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan early Saturday, as one of the largest operations to assert government control over this country got underway.
Continue reading "U.S. Marines launch major offensive in Afghanistan" »
MARJA, Afghanistan — The helicopter was filled with men and dark in its cabin when a voice cut over the whir of the rotors.
“Five minutes out!”
Continue reading "In the Cold of Morning, Descending Into Conflict" »
When Marines rumble into the Taliban stronghold of Marjah in Helmand province for one of the largest offensives of the Afghanistan war, they'll be battle-testing a powerful new weapon, the Assault Breacher Vehicle
When the the Marines currently stacked up in Afghanistan's Helmand province waiting for a long-planned offensive against the Taliban finally make their move, they'll be coming with a powerful new weapon that looks like a cross between a tank and hell's own backhoe.
Continue reading "Marines roll out Assault Breacher Vehicles for Marjah Afghanistan offensive" »
NEAR MARJAH, Afghanistan -
U.S. and Afghan forces ringed the Taliban stronghold of Marjah on Thursday, sealing off escape routes and setting the stage for what is being described as the biggest offensive of the nine-year war.
Continue reading "US and Afghan troops ring Taliban stronghold" »
NEAR MARJAH, Afghanistan — U.S. and Afghan forces ringed the Taliban stronghold of Marjah on Thursday, sealing off escape routes and setting the stage for what is being described as the biggest offensive of the nine-year war.
Continue reading "U.S. Troops Close Taliban Escape Route Before Major Offensive" »
KABUL — The Taliban vowed on Thursday to fight back with a "hit and run" guerrilla campaign against Western and Afghan forces preparing to storm one of their key strongholds in southern Afghanistan.
Continue reading "Taliban vow guerrilla warfare against NATO troops" »
SISTANI, Afghanistan -- In comes "The Joker."
Continue reading "Marines push 'The Breacher' against Taliban lines" »
NEAR MARJAH, Afghanistan (AP) -- U.S. Marines and Taliban insurgents exchanged gunfire Thursday on the outskirts of Marjah, a southern militant stronghold where American and Afghan forces are expected to launch a major attack in the coming days.
Continue reading "Taliban, Marines exchange fire as battle looms" »
HELMAND PROVINCE, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan – “Salam Alikum. Zama noom Stacy da.”
Sgt. Stacy A. Blackburn-Hoelscher, the female engagement team training non-commissioned officer, Marine Expeditionary Brigade – Afghanistan, offers her hand and flawlessly introduces herself in Pashtu to a young Afghan boy outside his home in a settlement outside Camp Leatherneck.
Continue reading "Female engagement team: why one NCO reaches out" »
CAMP LEATHERNECK, Helmand province, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan – Some people wonder why they should join the military. For others, it’s not a matter of “if” they should join, but when.
Continue reading "MEB-Afghanistan corpsman leads by example" »
NEAR MARJAH, Afghanistan — U.S. and Afghan forces pushed Tuesday to the edge of the southern Afghan town of Marjah, poised to seize the major Taliban supply and drug-smuggling stronghold in hopes of building public support by providing aid and services once the insurgents are gone.
Continue reading "U.S., Afghan Forces Poised to Seize Taliban Stronghold" »
Marines Test Taliban Defenses Before Attack on Key Militant Stronghold
(CBS/ AP) U.S. Marines fired smoke rounds Wednesday and armored vehicles maneuvered close to Taliban positions to test insurgent defenses ahead of an anticipated attack on the biggest militant-controlled town in southern Afghanistan.
Continue reading "U.S. Inches Closer to Major Afghan Assault" »
The town of Now Zad in Helmand Has Turned Around Faster Than Anyone Expected
Now Zad is a town again. In just two short months the small farming community Afghanistan's northern Helmand Province has turned around faster than anyone expected.
Continue reading "Now Zad: A Comeback Complicated by Success" »
OUTSKIRTS OF MARJAH, Afghanistan — US Marines came under attack from insurgents armed with sniper guns and rocket-propelled grenades as they geared up Wednesday to overwhelm a Taliban bastion in Afghanistan.
Continue reading "US Marines under fire ahead of Afghan assault" »
U.S. Marines Head up Force of 30,000 NATO and Afghan Troops Preparing to Attack Taliban Stronghold
(CBS) It is the eve of battle and today the Marines on the outskirts of Marjah got their marching orders from their commanding officer.
LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan - In anticipation of operations in central Helmand, a variety of organizations and individuals, including combined force commanders, have been paying close attention to civilian movements. Commanders in the area are reporting no significant increase in persons moving out of Nad-e Ali District in the last month.
Continue reading "Central Helmand Residents Encouraged to Remain in Homes" »
OUTPOST BELLEAU WOOD, Afghanistan — Take a desert of yellow-orange dust so flat it looks like Mars, with a freezing wind that blows so hard it can lift a large tent.
Continue reading "US Marines expectantly await battle in harsh Afghan desert winter" »
TOOR GHAR, Afghanistan — US Marines on Tuesday stepped up preparations for a major assault on a key Taliban bastion in southern Afghanistan hailed by officers as the biggest offensive of the eight-year war.
Continue reading "US Marines gear up for major Afghan assault" »
HELMAND PROVINCE, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan – Marines and sailors of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, battled Taliban insurgents, Feb. 9, after conducting a successful helicopter-borne assault to seize a key intersection east of the insurgent stronghold city of Marjeh.
Continue reading "Marines Fight Insurgents, Secure Key Intersection on Road to Marjeh" »
CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan — Heading into battle to seize a Taliban stronghold, U.S. Marines are keenly aware of one factor that could snatch defeat from the jaws of victory: Afghan civilian casualties.
Continue reading "Marines focus on civilian safety in Afghanistan" »
KABUL — The commander of foreign forces in Afghanistan said Sunday a major offensive will send a "strong signal" and clear insurgents from their southern stronghold, as residents fled ahead of the assault.
Continue reading "Afghan assault to send 'strong signal': McChrystal" »
LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Taliban militants are massing and preparing for a big fight ahead of a major NATO offensive in an insurgent stronghold in southern Afghanistan, villagers fleeing the area said on Sunday.
Continue reading "Taliban dig in for big assault, say Afghan villagers" »
COMBAT OUTPOST FIDDLER’S GREEN, Afghanistan
Sgt. Jefferson Haney is a rarity, and his fellow Marines look at him with just a little bit of envy.
Continue reading "Rules of engagement mean Marines see victory in holding fire" »
CHAPAWALA, Afghanistan — When 35-year-old Lance Cpl. Robert McGuinn enlisted four years ago, he knew what to expect.
Marines Hope Warning of Coming Attack Convinces Some Taliban to Leave
Marines have been advertising their intent to go into Marja and take it away from the Taliban for months. The beat of those drums has grown faster and stronger in recent days prompting many to ask, why tip one's hand to the enemy?
Continue reading "Marines Advertise Looming Offensive on Marja" »
CAMP BELLEAU WOOD, Afghanistan – A desolate patch of Afghan desert has been transformed into the Marine Corps' newest installation in Helmand province, Afghanistan. Marines and sailors from 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, have been working night and day to establish Camp Belleau Wood, named after the famous World War I battle in which 3/6 valiantly fought many years ago.
Continue reading "Home Is Where the Pack Is: Marines Set Up Camp in Southern Afghan Desert" »
The attack will be aimed at Marja, the last community held by the militia in Helmand province.
Reporting from Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan - The U.S. Marines and Afghan army plan a massive assault on Taliban fighters in Marja, the last community under Taliban control in a sprawling, lawless region once dominated by the insurgency, a top Marine said Wednesday.
Continue reading "Marines, Afghan army plan massive assault on Taliban" »
The Biggest Test Yet for President Obama's Surge of Troops Into Afghanistan
The city of Marja will be the biggest test yet for President Obama's troop surge in Afghanistan. Thousands of U.S. Marines, soldiers, Afghan security forces and international forces are planning to oust hard-core insurgents from their last big refuge in Helmand Province.
Continue reading "Afghanistan: Marines Gear Up for Biggest Fight Yet" »
HELMAND PROVINCE, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan – Beleaguered and tired, with combat boots half filled with water, Marines with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment and the Afghan national army soldiers attached to their unit, trudge through flooded canals in the Shorshurak region of Helmand province, Jan. 29.
HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan – When five injured Afghans needed medical attention, Marines and sailors from 1st Medical Battalion, Regimental Combat 7, came to their rescue.
Continue reading "Service Members Save Afghan Lives With Blood Drive" »
CAMP FIDDLER'S GREEN, Afghanistan — The incident, deadly and tragic as it was, rated only one short sentence on the official NATO website.
Continue reading "Marine deaths underline US struggle in Afghanistan" »
KARARDAR, Afghanistan — The Marine infantry company, accompanied by a squad of Afghan soldiers, set out long before dawn. It walked silently through the dark fields with plans of arriving at a group of mud-walled compounds in Helmand Province at sunrise.
Continue reading "As Marines Move In, Taliban Fight a Shadowy War" »
Counterinsurgency, in some circles and by some descriptions, can sound like a glamorous military art. More than often it is not.
Continue reading "Counterinsurgency, One Stuck Truck at a Time" »
SOUTHEAST OF MARJAH, Afghanistan: Anger, frustration and a hunger for revenge are running high among US Marines as casualties mount on the frontline of the battle against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan
Continue reading "US casualties in Afghanistan sow seeds of anger, frustration" »
CAMP DWYER, Helmand province, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan – Marines from Headquarters and Service Company of 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, arrived at the makeshift rifle range with large packs and complete sets of personal protective equipment under rain-threatening clouds the afternoon of Jan. 23, 2010, at Camp Dwyer, Helmand province, Afghanistan.
Continue reading "Marines prepare for Helmand campaign with shooting drills" »
SOUTHEAST OF MARJAH, Afghanistan — For the US Marines deployed to the battlefields of southern Afghanistan, life is fragile and thoughts focus on the day they see their families again, but something about this war is different
Continue reading "US Marines facing a 'different war' in Afghanistan" »
NAWA, Afghanistan — Marine 1st Sgt. Fredrick Smith was eyeballing the strange-looking convoy of vehicles that had come to a halt near a remote patrol base in the desert wasteland of central Helmand province.
Continue reading "Marines pressing Afghan army to take larger security role" »
SOUTHEAST OF MARJAH, Afghanistan — For the US Marines patrolling the dusty footpaths of southern Afghanistan, a bomb-sniffing black Labrador can mean the difference between life and death.
Continue reading "'Dogs of war' saving lives in Afghanistan" »
HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan -- Marine Capt. Scott Cuomo of Fox company, 2nd battalion, 2nd Marine regiment, must have felt very confident. How else to explain his climbing into an armorless Afghan army truck -- a coffin on four wheels -- next to Haji Abdullah Jan, the Afghan district governor, with only a few Afghan army soldiers for protection, to speed down empty dirt roads almost certainly mined by the Taliban?
Continue reading "U.S. Marines Make Fragile Progress in Helmand" »
HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Jan. 28, 2010 – Ironically, when protestors in the Garmsir district here set fire to a school Jan. 12 in a fervor over allegations that a Quran had been desecrated, about 300 copies of the Muslim holy book burned with the school.
Continue reading "Marines Help Afghans Gather in Protest Aftermath" »
Patrols are a constant for the Marine infantry in Afghan outposts. The Marine Corps believes that little keeps a unit as safe, as effective or as informed as having a constant — and constantly changing — presence moving over the ground.
Continue reading "Shave Every Day. Shower Every Two Months." »
NAWA, Helmand Province, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan – Hundreds of Marines, sailors and civilians of 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, gathered during a memorial service in Nawa to honor two fallen Marines and a civilian journalist.
Continue reading "Marines in Nawa Honor Two Fallen Brothers, Civilian Journalist" »
SHOSHARAK, Afghanistan — If luck is the battlefield’s final arbiter — the wild card that can trump fitness, training, teamwork, equipment, character and skill — then Lance Cpl. Ryan T. Mathison experienced its purest and most welcome form.
Continue reading "Foot on Bomb, Marine Defies a Taliban Trap" »
CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan #8722; To Lance Cpl. Antonio Kirby, the object found in the pocket of a delivery driver hardly looked like something to smoke.CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan #8722; To Lance Cpl. Antonio Kirby, the object found in the pocket of a delivery driver hardly looked like something to smoke.
Continue reading "Bahrain military bringing security to Afghan bases" »
HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Worse than turbulence, their truck sways side to side and bumps up and down along a path in Afghanistan. What would be an intolerable ride for most is just something Lance Cpl. Paul N. Krist, a dog handler for 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion and his dog Max have accepted as part of the job.
Anyone who has spent much time in the Afghan war could guess the sights and the living-standard particulars of Combat Outpost Sullivan, the home in Helmand Province for much of Weapons Company, First Battalion, Third Marines.
CAMP DWYER, Afghanistan – Marines and Sailors from 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment labored to get through the massive pile of gear in the center of the CH-53E Super Stallion and out into the burning sun of southern Afghanistan, Jan. 17, 2009. Almost instinctually, they hastily grabbed their bags and formed a neat pile of equipment several feet away from the flight line.
Continue reading "3/6 Arrives in Helmand Province, Prepare to Integrate With Afghan National Army" »
SOUTHEAST OF MARJAH, Afghanistan — The crisp crackling of AK-47s breaks the morning silence as US Marines inch towards the outskirts of a Taliban stronghold in Afghanistan's southern province of Helmand.
Continue reading "Bombs and ambushes as Marines inch into Taliban bastion" »
HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan - Stepping gingerly over rocks and uneven ground, Marines from Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment and the Afghan national army soldiers attached to them, patrolled to the north of Observation Post Huskars, in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Jan. 18, 2010.
Continue reading "Marines Draw Out Taliban in Southern Helmand Province" »
CAMP FIDDLER'S GREEN, Afghanistan — US Marines participating in President Barack Obama's surge in Afghanistan are slowly tightening the noose around an opium-growing region described as the Taliban's last bastion.
Continue reading "US surge tightens noose round Taliban stronghold" »
HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan – A riotous crowd gathered within the Garmsir District Center bazaar, in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Jan. 12. The riot was believed to have been orchestrated by the Taliban, on false pretenses of the desecration of a Koran by coalition forces earlier in the week.
HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan – A mounted patrol rolls up a mud path past spools of coiled concertina wire, which are uncurled as the column of vehicles passes and pulls into Observation Post Huskars, in Helmand province, Jan. 14, 2010.
HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Two men don flak jackets and Kevlar helmets, one set coyote brown, the other forest green, each with an emblem of their nation. Stepping out of their tent and walking with their squad leaders in step, Staff Sgt. Galen P. Hafner, a Marine platoon sergeant with Alpha Co., 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment and Staff Sgt. Gulwazir Harin, an Afghan national army platoon sergeant, attached to Alpha Co., 1/6, prepare to set out on a patrol in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Jan. 15.
FORWARD OPERATING BASE CAFERETTA, NIMRUZ PROVINCE, Afghanistan – In addition to fighting the Taliban, Marines in southern Afghanistan are fighting to win the confidence and trust of the Afghan populace.
Continue reading "Deployed Marines Learning Professionalism Through MCMAP" »
DELARAM, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A U.S. Marine commander in south Afghanistan blamed provocateurs for using religion to stir up a violent demonstration that has raised the political temperature in the country's most volatile region.
Continue reading "Marines defend troops after shots at Afghan protest" »
DELARAM, AFGHANISTAN -- Using a Predator drone, the U.S. military this week fired a Hellfire missile into a crowd of suspected insurgents in Helmand province, killing 13 people and wounding three others, military officials said Tuesday. It was one of two such attacks by unmanned aircraft on the same day.
Continue reading "U.S. uses Predator drone to hit suspected insurgents in Afghanistan; 13 killed" »
DELARAM, Afghanistan (Reuters) - The bearded Afghan men in traditional dress sat cross-legged on the floor listening to the U.S. colonel address them -- a common sight in Afghanistan in recent years, but now with a subtly changed message.
Continue reading "U.S. Marines tell Afghans: we're not here forever" »
LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Haji Zair, 45, has just been appointed the new district governor of Marjah, a Taliban stronghold in the center of Afghanistan's Helmand province. His first goal is just to be able to live there
Continue reading "No secret as U.S. Marines plan for Afghan assault" »
HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Laki, a village in Afghanistan, located in the southern portion of 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment's area of operation in the Garmsir District of Helmand province has never had a conventional coalition force visit or even walk down its streets.
Continue reading "Marines Interact With Locals in New Territory" »
HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Throughout Jan. 4-7, the Marines and sailors of Jump Platoon, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, rose from their dew covered sleeping bags, grabbed a meal ready to eat and prepared for a patrol.
NAWA, Afghanistan – Dozens of elder men from Nawa District's Shorshorak area and the city of Marjeh took part in a historic first official meeting between Afghan people and their governmental leaders near Forward Operating Base Fiddler's Green Jan. 8.
Continue reading "Afghan Government Leaders Join Nawa, Marjeh Citizens in Historic First Meeting" »