A combined Coalition and Afghan force killed 31 Taliban fighters and captured a senior commander during a raid last night in Helmand.
The combined force clashed with the Taliban for four hours during a raid on a compound near the village of Kariz-e Adamkhan in the district of Baghran in northern Helmand. The Taliban opened fire with machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, and roadside bombs during the engagement, the International Security Assistance Force reported in a press release.
During the fighting, 31 Taliban fighters were killed and an undisclosed number, including the Taliban’s district chief for Now Zad, were wounded and captured by Coalition forces. No Coalition or Afghan troops were killed during the fighting.
Baghran and the nearby district of Washir, also in Helmand, are considered to be under the control of the Taliban. The Taliban and al Qaeda are known to have operated training camps in Baghran for al Qaeda’s paramilitary Shadow Army.
Washir and Baghran are remote districts in Helmand and considered less problematic to the US military than the northern and central districts of Sangin, Kajaki, Musa Qala, Now Zad, and Nad Ali. The tribal leaders in Washir and Baghran sided with the Taliban mainly out of weakness, a senior US military intelligence official told The Long War Journal last fall.
“These are largely ‘small t’ Taliban,” the official said. “Absent government protection, they had little choice but to side with the Taliban.” The tribes in Washir and Baghran are taxed by the Taliban and provide recruits, but do not conduct attacks.
Since the summer of 2009, Coalition and Afghan forces have launched three offensives in southern and central Helmand. The first offensive took place in July 2009 in the districts of Nawa, Garmser, and Reg in central and southern Helmand. The Marines and Afghan troops have had success in suppressing the Taliban activities in these areas.
The next operation took place in December 2009 in the northern district of Now Zad, which was once controlled by the Taliban. The Marines have had success in wresting this district, too, from the control of the Taliban.
The third operation took place early this year in the Marja region in the central district of Nad Ali. Marja served as a Taliban and al Qaeda command and control hub as well as a major center for opium production. Marja is still contested, as the Taliban have put great effort into denying the region to Afghan and Coalition forces. Senior US commanders made Marja the centerpiece for their future operations in neighboring Kandahar, and the Taliban are seeking to show the Coalition and the Afghan government that efforts to control these areas will be too costly.
Along with the major operations to control territory, Coalition and Afghan forces have heavily targeted the Taliban’s mid- and top-level commanders during raids throughout the south. ISAF claims that more than 130 senior Taliban commanders have been killed or captured over the past several months, The New York Times reported.
Key Taliban commanders recently killed in the south include Haji Agha, the Taliban’s military commander for the Panjwai, Dand, and Zhari districts in Kandahar; Mullah Zergay, the Taliban’s leader of Kandahar City and the districts of Zhari and Arghandab; and Izzatullah, the Taliban’s military commander for Panjwai.
Meanwhile, the Taliban have launched their own offensive in Kandahar province. They have targeted tribal leaders, politicians, and other elites for assassination. More than 20 people, including the district chief for Arghandab and the deputy mayor of Kandahar City, have been killed over the past several months.
2 Comments
The Marines have to be pro-active whenever possible, and yes come into a hot LZ and take it to them. Keep up the good work Marine Corp.
Do I remember correctly? The President asked for clarification on the surge strategy. He then dithered for four month’s before O’K ing half the troops requested. And, as of yet,all of the surge forces are not in place. Am I an alarmist?