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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...

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...

Courtesy UK Ministry of Defence As Operation MOSHTARAK enters its second week, local people in Marjah have voiced their thanks to the ISAF troops involved in clearing the area of insurgents. In a briefing to the media today, Friday 19 February 2010, UK military spokesman Major General Gordon Messenger said that locals within the agricultural population of the town are welcoming troops arriving in the area. Operation MOSHTARAK is being conducted in Marjah area by predominantly American and Afghan troops, while British troops and their Afghan partners have been concentrating in the Nad 'Ali district. Maj Gen Messenger said...

KABUL, Afghanistan (Feb. 19) - Clearance operations continue and are still meeting with some resistance, more so in Marjah than in Nad-e Ali. IEDs remain the main threat to the combined force, with some intense small-arms engagements still occurring. Afghan and British forces are pressing on with clearing operations in Nad-e Ali and the South Bolan Desert while ANSF and U.S. forces clear Marjah. The combined force is meeting determined pockets of resistance in both the north and east of Marjah city. The main effort has been on clearing IEDs and minefields. Another focus is the emplacement of military bridging...

NEWS RELEASEISAF Joint Command - Afghanistan 2010-02-CA-086 For Immediate Release  KABUL, Afghanistan (Feb. 18) - Yesterday, Governor Gulab Mangal travelled to Marjah to observe Operation Moshtarak. During his visit an Afghan flag was raised over the town, and the governor met with some of the combined-force servicemembers who are conducting counter-insurgent operations. Subsequently, the governor travelled to Camp Bastion to visit with injured civilians from Marjah. He was accompanied by Deputy District Governor Haji Zahir, three Marjah elders and members of the local Afghan media. Governor Mangal held a shura yesterday to discuss the security situation in Nad-e Ali...

KABUL, Afghanistan (Feb. 17) - The military phase of Operation Moshtarak remains on track. The insurgents are tactically adept, have resilience and are cunning, so continued tactical patience on the part of the combined force is important. Mining is significant in areas, and the combined force must be very deliberate in its movement in order to minimize local Afghan and combined force casualties. On the ground, the conduct of Operation Moshtarak is visibly demonstrating that the force has changed the way it operates and that it is working with and for the people of Afghanistan. ISAF is operating in support...

HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Feb. 17, 2010 – When Operation Moshtarak kicked off here Feb. 13, Army helicopter crews from the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade inserted nearly 300 Marines and Afghan security forces into Marja, Afghanistan, under cover of darkness. Marines carry their gear out to Army helicopters prior to an air assault into Marja, Afghanistan, Feb. 13, 2010. UH-60 Black Hawk CH-47F Chinook helicopters inserted nearly 300 Marines into the objective area. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Aubree Clute  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. UH-60 Black Hawks, CH-47F Chinooks and AH-64 Apaches from Task Force Pegasus facilitated the...

NEWS RELEASEISAF Joint Command - Afghanistan 2010-02-CA-075 For Immediate Release  KABUL, Afghanistan (Feb. 16) - The clearing phase of operation Moshtarak continued yesterday. The combined force continues to face sporadic fire fights. The combined forces have incurred casualties. A press conference held yesterday in Lashkar Gah included General Abdul Rahim Wardak, Minister of Defense; Mohammed Hanif Atmar, Minister of Interior; Mohammed Gulab Mangal, Governor of Helmand Province; Brigadier-General Sher Mohammad Zazai, ANA 205 Corps commander; and General Stanley McChrystal, ISAF commander. Gen. Wardak said the objective of Operation Moshtarak is not to kill insurgents, but to provide security, governance...

KABUL, Feb. 16, 2010 – The clearing phase of Operation Moshtarak in southern Afghanistan continues as Afghan and coalition troops experienced sporadic fire fights with the enemy, officials reported yesterday. A U.S. Marine with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, takes cover behind a berm in the city of Marja in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Feb. 13, 2010. Afghan and coalition forces are battling Taliban militants and other insurgents in southern Afghanistan as part of Operation Moshtarak. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. James W. Clark  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Afghan Gen. Abdul Rahim Wardak, Minister of...

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,...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 15, 2010 – The clearing phase of Operation Moshtarak in the center of Afghanistan’s Helmand province continued yesterday, with combined Afghan and international forces conducting a number of mounted and dismounted patrols, military officials reported. Forces have been engaged in periodic small-arms firefights. A number of insurgents have been either killed or detained, officials said, and the combined force has suffered some injuries. Three successful “shuras” were held with influential community members, and other meetings with Helmand residents also took place. Afghan and International Security Assistance Force troops found improvised explosive devices and enemy weapons stockpiles. In Task...

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...

Since 2006, the Taliban have made a dramatic comeback in Afghanistan after being driven from the country in 2002. As security has deteriorated, they have steadily taken control of more and more territory. In response, a new strategic plan for Afghanistan has been formulated by General Stanley McChrystal, Commander of ISAF and US Forces - Afghanistan. On Dec. 3, 2009, this plan was approved by the Obama administration. While there are several important aspects of the strategy, such as political development, economic development, counter narcotics, and the police and justice system, this article will focus on the military aspect.

Members of the Afghanistan Army with 1st Battalion the Royal Welsh head over to the helicopter landing spot during Operation Moshtarak (Photo by SSgt Will Craig MOD/Crown Copyright 2010) Courtesy UK Ministry of DefenceThe initial key objectives of Operation Moshtarak have been achieved in a short space of time and with minimal interference from the Taliban, according to UK military spokesman Major General Gordon Messenger.The "clearing" phase of the operation was launched at 0400hrs local time this morning with a series of simultaneous helicopter assaults and ground offensives undertaken by thousands of Afghan Army forces and ISAF soldiers from...

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...

The first stage of the biggest military offensive ever launched by Nato troops in Afghanistan has been declared a success as thousands of US and British troops seized a string of Taliban strongholds across central Helmand. In a series of complex airborne assaults, more than two thousand British and US troops began flooding into Taliban-controlled territory under Operation Moshtarak. The long-awaited push, involving about 15,000 Nato and Afghan troops, was not without cost. A Grenadier Guard was killed when his Jackal patrol vehicle struck an improvised explosive device in the Nad-e-Ali area of Helmand. A US Marine died in a...

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...

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...