Posted by admin! / Under Helmand River
A plucky dog called Molly spearheaded a five-day blitz by Scottish soldiers on the Taliban's tribal heartland. The five-year-old spaniel led the strike by troops of 4 Scots, The Highlanders, into one of the deadliest parts of Helmand province in Afghanistan. Molly was drafted in to sniff out booby trap bombs - the biggest killer of coalition troops - ahead of soldiers as they moved into the infamous Loy Check region of Helmand. Loy Check is notorious for heroin production and Taliban activity. Dog handler Private Charlotte Cook, 21, said: "As you can imagine, Molly, like the rest of us,...
Published on Monday 6th of February 2012 05:01:58 PM
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Posted by admin! / Under Helmand River
The body of a soldier who died along with his record breaking sniffer dog in Afghanistan last week will be returned home to the UK. Lance Corporal Liam Tasker, from Kirkcaldy in Fife, was shot dead while on patrol in Helmand province. The ashes of the 26-year-old's dog Theo will be flown home on the same plane. L/Cpl Tasker, who was called a "rising star" by Army chiefs, was shot by Taliban snipers and Theo died of a seizure shortly after his master. The soldier and his 22-month-old dog had made 14 finds in five months while on the frontline.
Published on Monday 6th of February 2012 05:01:58 PM
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Posted by admin! / Under Helmand River
SANGIN, Afghanistan – U.S. Marines who recently inherited this lush river valley in southern Helmand province from British forces have tossed aside their predecessor's playbook in favor of a more aggressive strategy to tame one of the most violent places in Afghanistan. U.S. commanders say success is critical in Sangin district — where British forces suffered nearly one-third of their deaths in the war — because it is the last remaining sanctuary in Helmand where the Taliban can freely process the opium and heroin that largely fund the insurgency. The district also serves as a key crossroads to funnel drugs,...
Published on Monday 6th of February 2012 05:01:58 PM
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Posted by admin! / Under Helmand River
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.Cpl. Christopher J. Boyd, 22, of Palatine, Ill., died Aug. 19 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, IMarine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Published on Monday 6th of February 2012 05:01:58 PM
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Posted by admin! / Under Helmand River
A Gurkha soldier has been flown back to the UK after hacking the head off a dead Taliban commander with his ceremonial knife to prove the dead man’s identity. The private, from 1st Battalion, Royal Gurkha Rifles, was involved in a fierce firefight with insurgents in the Babaji area of central Helmand Province when the incident took place earlier this month. His unit had been told that they were seeking a ‘high value target,’ a Taliban commander, and that they must prove they had killed the right man. Deadly: A platoon of Gurkhas demonstrate their skill with their kukri knives...
Published on Monday 6th of February 2012 05:01:58 PM
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Posted by admin! / Under Helmand River
HIS has been one of the deadliest weeks on record for coalition forces fighting in Afghanistan. Two Australian soldiers were killed in Tarin Kowt on Monday; seven US soldiers and one contractor were also killed. Two more US Marines died the following day in Southern Afghanistan's Helmand Province, when seven Marines were brought down by an IED blast. Two of those casualties were later confirmed to be the result of ''angels'' - the call sign for friendly KIA (Killed In Action) incidents. The remains of one of the dead Marines were unable to be located. It is assumed that he...
Published on Monday 6th of February 2012 05:01:58 PM
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Posted by admin! / Under Helmand River
It became known as “the battle of Crossing Point One”. In a series of suicidal attacks late last year, hard-core Taliban fighters tried to over-run an isolated British base on the northern tip of Nad e’Ali. Had the insurgents succeeded, the victory would have been a propaganda coup par excellence, and the British mission in central Helmand could have been seriously jeopardised. For two gruelling weeks in the area of Luy Mandah, 30 soldiers fought a 360-degree battle with the Taliban in the most arduous conditions. The combat was often at close quarters where bayonets were fixed and hand grenades...
Published on Monday 6th of February 2012 05:01:58 PM
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Posted by admin! / Under Helmand River
KABUL, March 8, 2010 – Operations in Helmand province will serve as a template for future operations elsewhere in Afghanistan, NATO’s senior civilian representative here said today. Ambassador Mark Sedwill, who served as British ambassador to Afghanistan, said the operation is different from others in three basic ways. The first, he said, is that from its inception, NATO’s regional commander, British Maj. Gen. Nick Carter, and his Afghan counterparts planned the operation “from the end-game backwards.” “And the end-game is the civilian delivery of governance and development,” Sedwill said. The second difference, Sedwill said, is the integration of Afghan and...
Published on Monday 6th of February 2012 05:01:58 PM
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Posted by admin! / Under Helmand River
WASHINGTON, March 3, 2010 – Operation Moshtarak, now in its 18th day in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, is “progressing extraordinarily well” and is moving from the clearing phase to the holding phase, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said today. “There are still pockets where we believe there to be some Taliban hiding out, perhaps lying in wait,” he said. “We are determined to clear out those pockets, as well.” Pockets of fighting probably will continue for weeks, he added, even as signs of normalcy emerge there. Because of the operation, the Afghan government now is in control of the Helmand cities...
Published on Monday 6th of February 2012 05:01:58 PM
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Posted by admin! / Under Helmand River
WASHINGTON, Feb. 22, 2010 – The coalition’s operations in Helmand province are the first stage of a broader offensive to change the course of the fight in Afghanistan, Defense Department leaders told the Senate Armed Services Committee today. Operation Moshtarak, as the offensive launched Feb. 13 is known, is “going well so far,” Michele Flournoy, undersecretary of defense for policy, said in a briefing to the committee. “This really is the first large-scale effort to change how we’re doing business.” Flournoy and Marine Corps Lt. Gen. John M. Paxton Jr., director of operations for the Joint Staff, said Moshtarak is...
Published on Monday 6th of February 2012 05:01:58 PM
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Posted by admin! / Under Helmand River
KABUL, Feb. 13, 2010 – Key military clearing operations for Operation Moshtarak have begun in the central part of Afghanistan’s Helmand province, Afghan government officials announced today. The clearing operations follow smaller-scaled shaping operations that have helped to set the conditions for this new phase, officials said. The combined force comprises the Afghan National Army, Afghan National Police, International Security Assistance Force Regional Command South and the Helmand provincial reconstruction team. The operations now under way are designed to clear the region of insurgents and set the conditions for the Afghan government to introduce increased security, stability, development, rule of...
Published on Monday 6th of February 2012 05:01:58 PM
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Posted by admin! / Under Helmand River
Offensive Against Taliban Starts Assault ... helicopters fly troops in to start the offensive against the Taliban Andy Bush A FORCE of more than 15,000 Allied troops stormed into Taliban strongholds early today as commanders heralded "the beginning of the end for the insurgency". Under cover of darkness, an awesome array of troops dropped into the badlands of the Helmand valley.A first wave of 1,200 British troops - out of a total of 4,000 in the operation - were involved as the mission started.Our Boys took off from Camp Bastion in a fleet of helicopters as Operation Moshtarak got underway...
Published on Monday 6th of February 2012 05:01:58 PM
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Posted by admin! / Under Helmand River
NEAR MARJAH, Afghanistan – Helicopter-borne U.S. Marines and Afghan troops swooped down on the Taliban-held town of Marjah before dawn Saturday, launching a long-expected attack to re-establish government control and undermine support for the militants in their southern heartland. ... Marine commanders say they expect anywhere between 400 to 1,000 insurgents to be holed up inside this southern Afghan town of 80,000 people in Helmand province, including more than 100 foreign fighters.
Published on Monday 6th of February 2012 05:01:58 PM
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Posted by admin! / Under Helmand River
NEAR MARJAH, Afghanistan – U.S. and Afghan soldiers linked up with Marines on the outskirts of the Taliban stronghold of Marjah on Thursday, sealing off escape routes and setting the stage for what is being described as the biggest offensive of the nine-year war. Taliban defenders repeatedly fired rockets and mortars at units poised in foxholes along the edge of the town, apparently trying to lure NATO forces into skirmishes before the big attack. "They're trying to draw us in," said Capt. Joshua Winfrey, 30, of Tulsa, Okla., commander of Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines. Up to 1,000 militants...
Published on Monday 6th of February 2012 05:01:58 PM
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