http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\02\04\story_4-2-2010_pg7_13
Associated Press February 3, 2010 Coalition troops brace for biggest offensive since start of Afghan war CAMP LEATHERNECK: US-led coalition troops are planning their biggest joint offensive since the beginning of the Afghan war, officers said on Wednesday. They are aiming to target a town in the south of Afghanistan.... Due to security reasons, no exact date for the launch of the offensive has been released as yet but US commanders have said they plan to capture the town of Marjah, 380 miles southwest of Kabul during this winter. Up to 125,000 people are believed to live in the district around Marjah, an agricultural centre in Helmand province. And about 80,000 people live in or around the town itself. US officers claim that between 600 and 1,000 Taliban and foreign fighters are operating in the area. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) officials did not tell as to how many NATO and Afghan troops had been earmarked for the offensive, but they are expected to vastly outnumber the Taliban and their allies. In Kabul, NATO spokesman Brigadier General Eric Tremblay told reporters that the operation would include at least 1,000 Afghan police personnel and thousands of Afghan soldiers as well as thousands of NATO troops. .... Fighting in Helmand escalated in 2006 and the sprawling southern province was transformed into one of the deadliest parts of the country. .... Afghan National Army’s Major Jundish Jang Baz said the Taliban are believed to include about 100 to 150 foreign fighters, including Arabs, Pakistanis, Uzbeks, Chechens and a few Yemenis. He added that the problem was that NATO was not completely sure whether it could rely on all the forces supposed to be on its side. Jang Baz said the locally hired Afghan police were less than reliable. Azimi said an investigation was under way into a NATO airstrike that killed four Afghan soldiers last week in the Wardak province. The fighting broke out when a joint US-Afghan force came under fire near a remote highway outpost and called in the airstrike. Both sides have said it appeared to be a case of mistaken identity. =========================== Stop NATO http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato Blog site: http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/ To subscribe, send an e-mail to: rwroz...@yahoo.com or stopnato-subscr...@yahoogroups.com Daily digest option available. ==============================
