Marines airdropped into Taliban territory
MARJAH, Afghanistan — Elite Marine recon teams were dropped behind Taliban lines by helicopter today as the U.S.-led force stepped up operations to break resistance in the besieged insurgent stronghold of Marjah.
About two dozen Marines were inserted before dawn into an area where skilled Taliban marksmen are known to operate, an officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of security concerns.
Other squads of Marines and Afghans, marching south in a bid to link up with Marine outposts there and expand their territory, came under sniper fire and rocket attacks by midday. The rattle of machine-gun fire and the thud of mortars echoed nearby.
The Marjah offensive, now in its seventh day, 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.
A NATO statement said troops were still meeting "some resistance" from insurgents who engage them in firefights, but homemade bombs remain the key threat to allied and Afghan forces.
Six coalition troops were killed Thursday, NATO said, making it the deadliest day since the offensive began. The death toll so far is 11 NATO troops and one Afghan soldier. Britain's Defense Ministry said two 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.
As U.S. and Afghan troops moved south today, they continued to sweep through houses, searching for bombs and questioning residents.
One man came forward to the Marines and revealed a Taliban position a mile 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.
Other people interviewed said some Taliban fighters in the area were nonAfghan.
"Some of them are from here. Some are from Pakistan. Some are from other countries, but they don't let us come close to them so I don't know where they are from," said poppy farmer Mohammad Jan, 35, a father of four.
Brig. Gen. Mohiudin Ghori, who is in charge of Afghan troops in the offensive, said security responsibilities in a few sections of town, including the main bazaar, had been turned over to Afghan police.
Ghori said five suspected militants who had stashed Afghan army and police uniforms in their homes had been arrested. Infiltration of police and army ranks by insurgents has been a constant concern.
A Marine general said Thursday that U.S. and Afghan allied forces controlled the main roads and markets in town, but fighting raged elsewhere in the southern farming town.
