Posted on 02/16/2010 11:38:50 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
US Marines moving from the north of Marjah have joined up with US troops who were dropped into the area by helicopter four days ago, helping to increase their control over a crucial area known as the Pork Chop.
Major-General Nick Carter, the British commander of Nato forces in southern Afghanistan, said that two thirds of the town of Marjah had been cleared but the remainder would take longer to purge of insurgents because of roadside bombs. British troops hold three quarters of their designated area, he added.
US troops, facing continued fire from the Taleban, fired smoke rounds to clear insurgents. When they moved through territory held previously by the Taleban the Marines found heroin with a street value of £300,000 and enough ammonium nitrate fertiliser to make 1,000lb of improvised bombs.
A statement by the Taleban, however, said that the invading forces have made no spectacular advancement since the beginning of the operations. They have descended from helicopters in limited areas of Marjah and now are under siege. The invaders are not able to come out of their ditches.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
fyi
bump
Pork chop?
That ain’t kosher.
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