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Title: US Marines Seize Taliban Headquarters, Push Insurgents Into Corner Of Marjah
Source:
Associated Press
URL Source: http://www.610cktb.com/news/56/1074540
Published: Feb 19, 2010
Author: Associated Press
Post Date: 2010-02-19 17:00:06 by Brian S
Keywords: None
Views: 3040
Comments: 15
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. Insurgents who had been using the field office just south of Marjah's town centre abandoned it by the end of the day's fighting, as Marines converged on them from all sides, escalating operations to break resistance in this Taliban stronghold in southern Helmand province. Marines from Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines fought their way south from the town centre Friday after residents told them that several dozen insurgent fighters had regrouped in the area. Throughout the day, small groups of Taliban marksmen tried to slow the advance with rifle fire as they slowly fell back in face of the Marine assault. "They know that they are outnumbered ... and that in the end they don't have the firepower to compete with us conventionally," said Capt. Joshua Winfrey of Tulsa, Oklahoma, commander of Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines. As the Marines advanced, they found rows of abandoned bunkers dug alongside an irrigation canal that the Taliban had used to fire on them the day before. Located at a crossroads, the five abandoned bunkers, camouflaged under a layer of mud, looked out across an open field. In the near distance, large stones had been set up to help the Taliban site in on their targets. Just behind the bunkers, the Marines found a compound, surrounded by a mudbrick wall, typical of family homes in the town. Inside the compound, where a few chickens still wandered, Marines uncovered dozens of Taliban-issued ID cards, official Taliban letterhead stationery and government stamps. They also found graduation diplomas from an insurgent training camp in Baluchistan, an area of southern Pakistan that borders Helmand province, along with photos of fighters posing with AK-47 assault rifles. The insurgents had fled with their weapons and ammunition. The Marines said they'd been coming under fire all day - but never saw any of the elusive gunmen, who retreated to resume hit-and-run tactics using snipers and small gun squads to harass Marine lines. Lima Company's advance was part of a move by several Marine companies to converge on a pocket of Taliban fighters from all four directions. The Marines believe they've cornered what appeared to be a significant Taliban fighting force. "It seems that it's their last stand," Winfrey said. NATO said one service member died Friday in a small-arms attack but did not identify the victim by nationality. Six coalition troops were killed Thursday, NATO said, making it the deadliest day since the offensive began Feb. 13. The death toll for the operation stands at 12 NATO troops and one Afghan soldier. Britain's Defence Ministry said three British soldiers were among those killed Thursday. No precise figures on Taliban deaths have been released, but senior Marine officers say intelligence reports suggest more than 120 have died. The officers spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information. The Marjah offensive is the biggest since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan and a test of President Barack Obama's strategy for reversing the rise of the Taliban while protecting civilians. Marjah, 360 miles (610 kilometres) southwest of Kabul, has an estimated population of 80,000 and had been under Taliban control for years. Before dawn on Saturday, about two dozen elite Marines were dropped by helicopter into an area where skilled Taliban marksmen were known to operate, an officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of security concerns. A NATO statement said troops were still meeting "some resistance" from insurgents and that homemade bombs remain the key threat. At a briefing in London, Maj. Gen. Gordon Messenger said the militant holdouts don't threaten the overall offensive but will take time to clear out. "The levels of resistance in these areas has increased but not beyond expectation. We expected after the enemy had time to catch its breath, they would up the level of resistance, and that's happened," he said. As U.S. and Afghan troops moved south Friday, they continued to sweep through houses, searching for bombs and questioning residents. One man came forward and revealed a Taliban position a mile (1.6 kilometres) away. The man, who was not identified for security reasons, said he was angry because insurgents had earlier taken over his home. He gave U.S. forces detailed information, saying more than a dozen Taliban fighters were waiting to ambush troops there. The position was rigged with dozens of homemade bombs and booby-traps, he said. Outside of Marjah, U.S. and Afghan troops, backed by Stryker infantry vehicles, pushed into a section of mud-walled compounds that had been occupied by the Taliban in the Badula Qulp region, northeast of town. Hit with small arms fire, the troops retaliated with machine-guns and fired off a missile at a house where insurgents were believed to be hiding, and the militants quickly withdrew. - Associated Press writers Sylvia Hui in London, Rahim Faiez in Helmand province, Noor Khan in Kandahar and Tini Tran in Kabul contributed to this report.
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#1. To: Brian S (#0)
Sounds like some decent progress is being made.
my anti groupie can't get through life without me.
Don't worry Blunder Boy...the economy could still break your way (laughing)...
The fact I was an RM2 escapes you obviously, and what that implies. Badeye posted on 2007-01-30 16:42:29 ET Reply Trace Who ever is commanding the Taliban has their shit together. They can't defeat NATO, but at least they are conducting a very effective fighting-withdrawl. I wish our boys well, we'll win every fight, but I know the USA and the West doesn't have it's act together to the point where we'll stick it out.
Goldi-Lox: You're one dumb-fucking bitch.
I think that is uncalled for War. BE and myself are hoping that we can pull it out in Afghanistan. Nor do we want the economy to crash. Never forget it was your side which salivated at each and every death in this war, up until you guys were running the show. And that is bad karma.
Goldi-Lox: You're one dumb-fucking bitch.
Blunder Boy can answer for himself. Or not...I could care less if that Hagar clad asshole spawn of Barney Fife typed another word. But you putting words into his mouth that a) arent there and b) have never been there and c) the record shows the opposite to be true is fairly disingenuous... I don't need anyone to channel Ol' Basslips for me...he's been a known quantity (laughing) for over 10 years.
The fact I was an RM2 escapes you obviously, and what that implies. Badeye posted on 2007-01-30 16:42:29 ET Reply Trace Considering I had and have family in harms way in these wars please do not deign to speak for "my side". You have 0 clue as to what "my side" is...
The fact I was an RM2 escapes you obviously, and what that implies. Badeye posted on 2007-01-30 16:42:29 ET Reply Trace You know I meant the left-wing. You don't have to get all uppity. You knew what I meant.
Goldi-Lox: You're one dumb-fucking bitch.
Not that same as you doing it. I don't go around saying how my dad was in WW2 or my cousin was in VN. Let's stick to what we have here, not our family.
Goldi-Lox: You're one dumb-fucking bitch.
I never claimed that it was. Let's stick to what we have here, not our family. I've given you 0 reason to make the accusation that you did above. I never engaged in what you and The Incredible Mr. Limpy called blood dancing here or at any time in my life...
The fact I was an RM2 escapes you obviously, and what that implies. Badeye posted on 2007-01-30 16:42:29 ET Reply Trace Perhaps you haven't, but to deny many from your political spectrum haven't, or to ignore it while attacking BE is intellecutally dishonest.
Goldi-Lox: You're one dumb-fucking bitch.
There's no "perhaps" about it and just because out of ten aspects of an opinion about an event - in this case, Iraq - that I agree on 2 with others so opposed, it doesn't marry me to either the other 8 or the manner in which they choose to express their opinions. And Boofer The One Eyed Blunder Boy can go fuck himself. He doesn't need you to stand up for him....he's 50+ years old...if he wants to stand up for himself he will...he won't though...he knows what's waiting...
The fact I was an RM2 escapes you obviously, and what that implies. Boofer posted on 2007-01-30 16:42:29 ET Reply Trace Sorry man, you carry the water for the left pretty well. I will admit you do a good job at doing it, you're wrong, but you will always be the bag-man for the left.
Goldi-Lox: You're one dumb-fucking bitch.
Nah...I got off the road most traveled at several points not the least of which, lately, is health care. But I get even more pissed off at the right who want to LIE about it...death panels...no private insurance...etc etc etc. The right cannot have an honest debate about any issue. The bottom line of the health care debate is that the GOP and CT Senators will not allow anything to happen to the free flow of tax dollars to "private" health insurers - very few of which, if any, woould be profitable without those tax dollars. Want to have fun some time? Look up how much tax money we give to those guys and then add up their collective profits.
The fact I was an RM2 escapes you obviously, and what that implies. Boofer posted on 2007-01-30 16:42:29 ET Reply Trace Want to have fun some time? Look up how much tax money we give to those guys and then add up their collective profits. Both parties are corrupt to the bone. But, you can't "reform" HC without taking from the elderly. We saw that the Dems authorized (but it still hasn't passed) something like $500B in Medicare cuts. Ipso facto death-panels. If you can't extrapolate that, given we see it in England, than I don't know what to say to you.
Goldi-Lox: You're one dumb-fucking bitch.
The free market has winners and losers...why, if health care should be a free market proposition, should it be exempt from that? That said, as the market exists now, private health insurers ROUTINELY deny coverage that results in the death of the patient. Hell,, most of the HMO laws that have been passed in the last 15 years have been targetted at their high rates of denial of either treatment or payment.
The fact I was an RM2 escapes you obviously, and what that implies. Boofer posted on 2007-01-30 16:42:29 ET Reply Trace
#2. To: Badeye (#1)
(Edited)
#3. To: Brian S (#0)
The insurgents had fled with their weapons and ammunition. The Marines said they'd been coming under fire all day - but never saw any of the elusive gunmen, who retreated to resume hit-and-run tactics using snipers and small gun squads to harass Marine lines.
#4. To: war (#2)
Don't worry Blunder Boy...the economy could still break your way (laughing)...
#5. To: Nebuchadnezzar (#4)
#6. To: Nebuchadnezzar (#4)
Never forget it was your side which salivated at each and every death in this war
#7. To: war (#6)
Never forget it was your side which salivated at each and every death in this war Considering I had and have family in harms way in these wars please do not deign to speak for "my side". You have 0 clue as to what "my side" is...
#8. To: war (#6)
Considering I had and have family in harms way in these wars please do not deign to speak for "my side". You have 0 clue as to what "my side" is...
#9. To: Nebuchadnezzar (#8)
Not that same as you doing it.
#10. To: war (#9)
I've given you 0 reason to make the accusation that you did above. I never engaged in what you and The Incredible Mr. Limpy called blood dancing here or at any time in my life...
#11. To: Nebuchadnezzar (#10)
(Edited)
#12. To: war (#11)
#13. To: Nebuchadnezzar (#12)
(Edited)
#14. To: war (#13)
Nah...I got off the road most traveled at several points not the least of which, lately, is health care. But I get even more pissed off at the right who want to LIE about it...death panels...no private insurance...etc etc etc. The right cannot have an honest debate about any issue. The bottom line of the health care debate is that the GOP and CT Senators will not allow anything to happen to the free flow of tax dollars to "private" health insurers - very few of which, if any, woould be profitable without those tax dollars.
#15. To: Nebuchadnezzar (#14)
Ipso facto death-panels.
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