Half of Town’s Taliban Flee or Are Killed, Allies Say

NAD ALI, Afghanistan — As heavy fighting in the insurgent stronghold of Marja carried into its third day, the number of Taliban fighters in the area has dropped by about half, American and Afghan commanders said Monday.

About a quarter of the 400 Taliban fighters estimated to be in Marja when the Afghan-American operation began early Saturday have been killed, officers said. A similar number of Taliban appear to have fled the area, including most of the leaders, and local Afghans were offering help ferreting out Taliban fighters and hidden bombs, they said.

But intense fighting on the ground through much of the day indicated that there were plenty of Taliban insurgents with fight left in them. In Marja itself, a broad agricultural area crisscrossed by irrigation canals, the fighting appears to be concentrated in two areas, at the northern end of the district and at the center. There, the combat on Monday continued at a furious pace.

Among the Taliban fighters still in Marja, American and Afghan officials said, morale appears to be eroding fast, in part because the holdouts feel abandoned by their leaders and by local Afghans who are refusing to shelter them.

“They cannot feed themselves, they cannot sustain themselves — that is what we are hearing,” Col. Scott Hartsell told a group of senior officers at a briefing near Marja that included Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the commander of NATO forces; and Abdul Rahim Wardak, the Afghan minister of defense. “They are calling for help, and they are not getting any.”

Psalms 37

PSA 37:1 (A Psalm of David.) Do not fret because of evildoers, Be not envious toward wrongdoers.
PSA 37:2 For they will wither quickly like the grass, And fade like the green herb.
PSA 37:3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
PSA 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart.
PSA 37:5 Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
PSA 37:6 And He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your judgment as the noonday.
PSA 37:7 Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.
PSA 37:8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret, it leads only to evildoing.
PSA 37:9 For evildoers will be cut off, But those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land.
PSA 37:10 Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more; And you will look carefully for his place, and he will not be there.
PSA 37:11 But the humble will inherit the land, And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.
PSA 37:12 The wicked plots against the righteous, And gnashes at him with his teeth.
PSA 37:13 The Lord laughs at him; For He sees his day is coming.
PSA 37:14 The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow, To cast down the afflicted and the needy, To slay those who are upright in conduct.
PSA 37:15 Their sword will enter their own heart, And their bows will be broken.
PSA 37:16 Better is the little of the righteous Than the abundance of many wicked.
PSA 37:17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken; But the Lord sustains the righteous.
PSA 37:18 The Lord knows the days of the blameless; And their inheritance will be forever.
PSA 37:19 They will not be ashamed in the time of evil; And in the days of famine they will have abundance.
PSA 37:20 But the wicked will perish; And the enemies of the Lord will be like the glory of the pastures, They vanish-- like smoke they vanish away.
PSA 37:21 The wicked borrows and does not pay back, But the righteous is gracious and gives.
PSA 37:22 For those blessed by Him will inherit the land; But those cursed by Him will be cut off.
PSA 37:23 The steps of a man are established by the Lord; And He delights in his way.
PSA 37:24 When he falls, he shall not be hurled headlong; Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand.
PSA 37:25 I have been young, and now I am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Or his descendants begging bread.
PSA 37:26 All day long he is gracious and lends; And his descendants are a blessing.
PSA 37:27 Depart from evil, and do good, So you will abide forever.
PSA 37:28 For the Lord loves justice, And does not forsake His godly ones; They are preserved forever; But the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.
PSA 37:29 The righteous will inherit the land, And dwell in it forever.
PSA 37:30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, And his tongue speaks justice.
PSA 37:31 The law of his God is in his heart; His steps do not slip.
PSA 37:32 The wicked spies upon the righteous, And seeks to kill him.
PSA 37:33 The Lord will not leave him in his hand, Or let him be condemned when he is judged.
PSA 37:34 Wait for the Lord, and keep His way, And He will exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
PSA 37:35 I have seen a violent, wicked man Spreading himself like a luxuriant tree in its native soil.
PSA 37:36 Then he passed away, and lo, he was no more; I sought for him, but he could not be found.
PSA 37:37 Mark the blameless man, and behold the upright; For the man of peace will have a posterity.
PSA 37:38 But transgressors will be altogether destroyed; The posterity of the wicked will be cut off.
PSA 37:39 But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in time of trouble.
PSA 37:40 And the Lord helps them, and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked, and saves them, Because they take refuge in Him.

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