NATO's major Afghan offensive begins in Helmand (3rd Lead)

Feb 13, 2010, 7:16 GMT

Kabul - Thousands of Afghan forces and US Marines entered the Taliban's main stronghold in southern Afghanistan as they started their biggest-ever operation against the insurgents in the country, officials said Saturday.

Nearly 5,000 US Marines and approximately 2,000 Afghan forces entered the farmlands and the main city of Marjah, a Taliban redoubt in Helmand province, after midnight Saturday, US Marine spokesman Captain Abraham Sipe said.

The combined forces encountered 'minimal resistance' as they moved into the Taliban stronghold and the country's main opium-producing region, he said.

A total of 15,000 troops including US, Afghan, British, Canadian, Danish and Estonian personnel were mobilised for the US-led operation, dubbed Mushtarak, a Dari word for 'together.' It is the largest offensive since the US-led coalition invaded Afghanistan in October 2001.

'Marjah is the last enemy sanctuary in the Marine area of operations,' Brigadier General Larry Nicholson said in a statement.

'This operation is designed to reconnect the people of Marjah with the legitimate government of Afghanistan. We are fully partnered with the Afghan government for this operation, and we have the resources we need to be successful,' he said.

Hours after the operation began, thousands of British and Afghan forces moved around Nad Ali, another district in central Helmand targeted by the offensive, a NATO military spokesman in Kabul said. Up to 4,000 British troops were to take part in the operation.

The spokesman said several smaller-scale operations had been conducted in previous days before the 'clearing' phase of the operation on Saturday.

In December, US President Barack Obama increased the US troop commitment by another 30,000 troops, bringing the US presence to 98,000 soldiers, in an effort to reverse gains by the Taliban.

The US and NATO together have around 113,000 troops in the country, and some NATO countries have pledged to send up to 7,000 more troops by summer this year.

The offensive aims to extend the Afghan government's authority in the region, ISAF officials said.

Contrary to usual military doctrine, the ISAF leaders publicly announced it well in advance so as to warn the Afghan population.

On Friday, NATO airplanes dropped leaflets warning people not to give shelter to the Taliban, and stay away from their positions inside the Marjah district, said Daoud Ahmadi, a spokesman for Helmand's provincial governor.

'The aim of the operation is also to make a point that the Afghan government can establish its authority whenever and wherever it wants,' NATO spokesman James Appathurai said in Brussels Wednesday.

Days prior to the operation, hundreds of residents of Marjah left the district for Lashkargah, the provincial capital, located some 30 kilometres to the east. Some 200 families also left Nad Ali and the surrounding areas.

But locals said that most of the 80,000 population have stayed put, because they could not afford to move out of the area or did not want to leave everything behind.

The publicity about the operation has also given Taliban fighters more of a chance to plant additional roadside bombs, a common tactic of the insurgents, which has proved to be the deadliest for NATO troops in the past three years.

Marines spokesman Sipe said roadside explosives were the main concern for the combined forces, but so far they have not 'slowed down their advances significantly.'

Taliban spokesmen have said that they had 2,000 fighters in the district and they were fully prepared to defend the area. Locals also said that the Taliban announced in mosques that they had enough weapons to distribute among the local villagers.

Marjah shares a long border with Pakistan, where the Taliban are said to have rear bases and training camps. The district also borders the conflictive Afghan province of Uruzgan.