- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 210
Reuters: http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-12-15T120755Z_01_SP303649_RTRUKOC_0_US-AFGHAN-OPERATION.xml&pageNumber=1&imageid=&cap=&sz=13&WTModLoc=NewsArt-C1-ArticlePage1
By Peter Graff
ARGHINDAB RIVER VALLEY, Afghanistan (Reuters) - British-led armored columns of NATO troops swept into southern Afghanistan's Kandahar province on Friday, launching one of the biggest operations in months.
Hundreds of British, Estonian and Danish troops, backed by scores of armored vehicles, crossed through the night from their base in neighboring Helmand province and set up a desert camp north of the Arghindab River valley, which commanders say is a haven for Taliban guerrillas.
"We're here on an intelligence-led mission against the Taliban," said operation commander Lieutenant-Colonel Matt Holmes. "You can tell by the size of our presence that we mean business."
Reuters Pictures
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from the last 24 hours.
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The offensive is one of the largest by NATO forces since the Canadian-led Operation Medusa in another part of Kandahar province in September, and the largest by British troops since heavy fighting in northern Helmand in the summer.
Royal Marines from Britain's 42 Commando were digging holes to sleep in at their new forward operating base in muddy desert, after camping under ponchos in rainstorms that hit the area as they moved east through the night.
They are joined by Estonian, Danes and British Light Dragoons in Scimitar light tanks.
The camp is in a wide desert and north of the Arghindab, a river surrounded by fertile irrigated croplands.
It is the first time such a large British-led force has been dispatched from Helmand to Kandahar, the Taliban heartland where several Canadian soldiers have been killed in some of the fiercest fighting of the year.
The NATO troops pushed into in southern Afghanistan this year as part of their takeover of security for the country from a U.S.-led coalition. NATO has about 32,000 soldiers in its mission and the U.S. about another 8,000 under a separate command.
The British Marines seemed excited by their mission.
"All right, let's party," said Marine Taff Blower as members of Lima Company, 42 Commando, set out in their Viking armored personnel carriers overnight.
By Peter Graff
ARGHINDAB RIVER VALLEY, Afghanistan (Reuters) - British-led armored columns of NATO troops swept into southern Afghanistan's Kandahar province on Friday, launching one of the biggest operations in months.
Hundreds of British, Estonian and Danish troops, backed by scores of armored vehicles, crossed through the night from their base in neighboring Helmand province and set up a desert camp north of the Arghindab River valley, which commanders say is a haven for Taliban guerrillas.
"We're here on an intelligence-led mission against the Taliban," said operation commander Lieutenant-Colonel Matt Holmes. "You can tell by the size of our presence that we mean business."
Reuters Pictures
Editors Choice: Best pictures
from the last 24 hours.
View Slideshow
The offensive is one of the largest by NATO forces since the Canadian-led Operation Medusa in another part of Kandahar province in September, and the largest by British troops since heavy fighting in northern Helmand in the summer.
Royal Marines from Britain's 42 Commando were digging holes to sleep in at their new forward operating base in muddy desert, after camping under ponchos in rainstorms that hit the area as they moved east through the night.
They are joined by Estonian, Danes and British Light Dragoons in Scimitar light tanks.
The camp is in a wide desert and north of the Arghindab, a river surrounded by fertile irrigated croplands.
It is the first time such a large British-led force has been dispatched from Helmand to Kandahar, the Taliban heartland where several Canadian soldiers have been killed in some of the fiercest fighting of the year.
The NATO troops pushed into in southern Afghanistan this year as part of their takeover of security for the country from a U.S.-led coalition. NATO has about 32,000 soldiers in its mission and the U.S. about another 8,000 under a separate command.
The British Marines seemed excited by their mission.
"All right, let's party," said Marine Taff Blower as members of Lima Company, 42 Commando, set out in their Viking armored personnel carriers overnight.
