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Pakistan confirmed that it had captured the number two Afghan Taliban leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Brader, in Karachi. This happened last week, in a joint U.S.-Pakistani intelligence operation. Mullah Abdul was the chief military planner for Afghanistan. Senior Afghan Taliban leaders have long been suspected of hiding in Karachi, along with hundreds of Afghan and Pakistani Taliban who have fled there. That's because the city is home to over two million Pushtuns (out of a city population of 12 million). About half these Pushtuns are Afghans (refugees from the 1980s war with Russia) and their children. Since Pushtuns, as a...

This report is republished with permission of STRATFOR On Feb. 13, some 6,000 U.S. Marines, soldiers and Afghan National Army (ANA) troops launched a sustained assault on the town of Marjah in Helmand province. Until this latest offensive, the U.S. and NATO effort in Afghanistan had been constrained by other considerations, most notably Iraq. Western forces viewed the Afghan conflict as a matter of holding the line or pursuing targets of opportunity. But now, armed with larger forces and a new strategy, the war — the real war — has begun. The most recent offensive — dubbed Operation Moshtarak (“Moshtarak”...

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...

Afghan and Coalition special operations forces killed a Taliban commander who works with foreign fighters and 10 Taliban and al Qaeda operatives during a raid in a region just outside the battle zone in Marja in Helmand province. During a raid in the district of Washir, the combined force targeted and killed Mullah Sarajudin, the Taliban commander, along with four al Qaeda operatives and six Taliban fighters. Washir lies just north of the district of Nad Ali, where Afghan and Coalition forces have launched a massive operation to take control of the city of Marja and the surrounding areas. "Troops...

Taliban fighters are increasingly using civilians as human shields in the assault on the southern town of Marjah, an Afghan official said Wednesday as military squads resumed painstaking house-to-house searches in the Taliban stronghold. About 15,000 NATO and Afghan troops are taking part in the offensive around Marjah, which has an estimated 80,000 inhabitants and was the largest town in southern Helmand province under Taliban control. NATO hopes to rush in aid and public services as soon as the town is secured to try to win the loyalty of the population. With the assault in its fifth day, insurgents are...

The United States Marines now fighting the battle of Marja, Afghanistan are facing a most difficult mission. They are tasked with clearing the town of Taliban fighters – and they are restricted by rules of engagement not seen heretofore in the history of U.S. warfare. Commanding General Stanley McChrystal has made limiting civilian casualties a higher priority than loss of American lives. And it is impossible to tell who is the enemy in a Muslim State that still resembles the Stone Age. The Los Angeles Times coverage by Tony Perry and Laura King is here:

The new PC rules of waging war is taking it's toll on the US military/NATO/Afghan troops attempts to re'seize control of the Taliban poppy stronghold of Marjah. Even the Air Force Times today focused on the frustration of soldiers on the ground, hampered by NATO style ROEs that effectively have the forces fighting with one hand tied behind their backs. Some American and Afghan troops say they’re fighting the latest offensive in Afghanistan with a handicap — strict rules that routinely force them to hold their fire. Although details of the new guidelines are classified to keep insurgents from reading...

MARJAH, Afghanistan—U.S. Marines and Afghan soldiers seized the site of Marjah's government offices, setting the stage for Kabul to attempt to resume its authority in a town long run by the Taliban. In a full day of skirmishing, the troops took a former police station in central Marjah, as well as the ruined foundations of the former government center. "The government will return to Marjah, and in short order," predicted Lt. Col. Calvin Worth, commander of 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment. Progress continued to be deliberate—at times slow—in the fourth day of what the U.S.-led coalition bills as its biggest...

A missile that struck an Afghan house killing 12 people hit its intended target, the commander of British forces in the country's south says. Maj Gen Nick Carter said the rocket had not malfunctioned, adding that the system responsible for firing the US missile was back in use. Officials have said three Taliban, as well as civilians were in the house. US forces have faced some resistance around the Taliban haven of Marjah as Operation Moshtarak continues. The progress of US troops has been hampered by sniper fire and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in some areas. British and Afghan troops...

Operation MOSHTARAK, the Afghan-led initiative to assert government authority in central Helmand province, has completed its first clearing operations, with 'hot stabilisation' already underway in the UK area of operations. UK military spokesman Major General Gordon Messenger gave a comprehensive account of events on Operation MOSHTARAK over the past 24 to 48 hours at a press briefing in London on Sunday 14 February 2010. Major General Messenger set out the context. The Regional Command (South) plan for the south of Afghanistan has three phases. Phase one was to rearrange forces around Kandahar so as to improve security around the city and its routes,...

Troops: Strict War Rules Slow Afghan Offensive Sign in to Recommend THE ASSOCIATED PRESS February 15, 2010 MARJAH, Afghanistan (AP) -- Some American and Afghan troops say they're fighting the latest offensive in Afghanistan with a handicap -- strict rules that routinely force them to hold their fire. Although details of the new guidelines are classified to keep insurgents from reading them, U.S. troops say the Taliban are keenly aware of the restrictions. ''I understand the reason behind it, but it's so hard to fight a war like this,'' said Lance Cpl. Travis Anderson, 20, of Altoona, Iowa. ''They're using...

MARJAH, Afghanistan — Sniper teams attacked U.S. Marines and Afghan troops across the Taliban haven of Marjah, as several gun battles erupted Monday on the third day of a major offensive to seize the extremists' southern heartland. Multiple firefights in different locations taxed the ability of coalition forces to provide enough air support as NATO forces forged deeper into the town, moving through suspected insurgent neighborhoods, the U.S. Marines said. In northern Marjah, an armored column came under fire from at least three separate sniper teams, slowing its progress. One of the teams came within 155 feet and started firing....

The head of the UK's armed forces, Sir Jock Stirrup, has said the killing of 12 civilians during Operation Moshtarak in Afghanistan was a "serious setback".No British troops were involved when two rockets fired by coalition forces missed its target in Marjah. Sir Jock said the British had to focus on regaining the trust of the Afghan population but accidents were "inevitable". Up to 15,000 Nato troops are searching for the Taliban in Marjah and Nad Ali.

Bryan Denton for the Wall Street Journal Lance Cpl. James Button, left, eyed a suspected Taliban position through his rifle scope, as Cpl. Grimm called out targets to their group.MARJAH, Afghanistan—Taliban insurgents tried to overrun a U.S. Marine outpost with a combination of rocket-propelled grenades and suicide bombers in a brazen attack just after sundown on Sunday. The Marines and Afghan soldiers fended off the assault, shooting the suicide attackers before they had a chance to detonate their weapons.The attack took place on the second day of a major offensive to wrest control of this town of 75,000 people from...

<p>Two U.S. rockets slammed into a home Sunday outside the southern Taliban stronghold of Marjah, killing 12 civilians after Afghanistan's president appealed to NATO to take care in its campaign to seize the town.</p> <p>Inside Marjah, Marines encountered "death at every corner" in their second day of a massive offensive to capture this bleak mud-brick city filled with booby traps, hardcore Taliban fighters and civilians unsure where to cast their loyalty.</p>

While the US media has been diddling around with political barbs and infighting, teleprompters vs palm'prompters, and spinning the stage show that's the health care bipartisan summit, my mind has been on our US military and NATO troops... including one of our FA own, Old Trooper. The US, NATO and Afghan military have amassed around the village of Marjah to implement Operation Mushtarak, or "Together," ...one leg of the strategy to again seize three key areas of Afghanistan, and beat back the resurgence of the Taliban since NATO took over security in 2006. The overview of the Afghan strategy includes...

Nato has confirmed that two rockets fired at militants during its offensive in Helmand, south Afghanistan, missed their target and killed 12 civilians. The rockets struck a house in Marjah as thousands of Nato troops continued their operations to oust the Taliban. Nato's commander Gen Stanley McChrystal said that "we deeply regret this tragic loss of life". Coalition forces are aiming to build on gains in Operation Moshtarak, tackling snipers and booby-traps on day two. A third Nato death related to the operation has also been confirmed. Operation Moshtarak, meaning "together" in the Dari language, is the biggest coalition attack...

MARJA, Afghanistan — The helicopters landed before dawn Saturday in a poppy field beside a row of mud-walled compounds. The Marines ran into the darkness and crouched through the rotor-whipped dust as their aircraft lifted away.For the Marines of Company K, Third Battalion, Sixth Marines, the assault into the last large Taliban stronghold in Helmand Province was beginning. For almost all of them, this was to be their first taste of war. And an afternoon of small-arms combat was ahead.But at first, these Marines, the vanguard for 6,000 NATO and Afghan troops streaming in to loosen the Taliban’s grip here...

NEWS RELEASEISAF Joint Command - Afghanistan 2010-02-CA-063 For Immediate Release  KABUL, Afghanistan (Feb. 14) - Operation Moshtarak, the Afghan-led initiative to assert government authority in the centre of Helmand province has completed its first day of "clearing" operations. Saturday morning's air insertion over Central Helmand included helicopters, A-10s, Tornadoes and C-130 aircraft. The waves of aircraft-borne troop insertions of Afghan National Army, United States and United Kingdom soldiers were completed by 5:55 a.m. local time. Since then, at least two shuras have been held with local Afghans - one in Nad-e Ali and one in Marjah. The ANA have been meeting...

American marines landed by helicopter in a pre-dawn assault on the Taliban stronghold of Marjah, seizing two central shopping bazaars and firing rockets at Taliban fighters who attacked from mud-walled compounds. As the marines secured their first objective, a jumble of buildings at the centre of the farming town, thousands of soldiers moved in on foot. Harrier jets called in by the marines fired heavy-calibre machineguns at the Taliban. Fighting continued for hours, according to an embedded correspondent. Cobra gunships unleashed Hellfire missiles into bunkers and tunnels. By nightfall, marines appeared to be in control of the centre of Marjah,...