Marines, Afghan Troops Squeeze Taliban Holdouts In Marjah
MARJAH, Afghanistan – A NATO official in Afghanistan says coalition forces could have swept through a Taliban-dominated town “in a couple days,” but at the cost of many more lives.
As it is, U.S. and Afghan troops are in their second week of fighting against an entrenched enemy in Marjah. Taliban fighters have been seen firing from houses with children nearby.
The militants are outnumbered and outgunned, but have rigged the town with bombs and booby traps. U.S.-led forces have been converging on a pocket of about 40 fighters believed to be holed up in a 2-square-mile area in the western part of Marjah.
Meanwhile, NATO says one service member died in a roadside bombing today, bringing the number of international troops killed in the Marjah operation to 13. At least one Afghan soldier has been confirmed dead. Senior Marine officers say more than 120 militants are reported killed.
The general who oversees the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, tells NBC that Marjah is the opening salvo in a campaign to turn back the Taliban that could last 12 to 18 months.
In a setback to that strategy, the Dutch prime minister announced today that his country’s 1,600 troops will probably leave Afghanistan this year.
