US soldiers descended on a mountain ridge Sunday, quickly
setting up fortified posts and mortar positions overlooking a key
Taliban transport route as the coalition pressed a major offensive
that has killed dozens of suspected militants.
It was the first time in several years that soldiers from the
US-led military force have ventured into Baghran Valley in the
northern part of Helmand province.
Troops from the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 10th
Mountain Division poured out of CH-47 Chinook helicopters in the
early morning and scouted the mountain for militants.
The position will allow US forces to block the movement of
Taliban fighters and supplies, said one of the officers, Lt. Col.
Chris Toner.
More than 10,000 coalition soldiers are spread out over four
southern provinces - Helmand, Uruzgan, Kandahar and Zabul - in
Operation Mountain Thrust, a blitz aimed at quelling a surge of
Taliban attacks. It is the largest offensive since the 2001 ouster
of the Taliban regime.
"We are the focus of Mountain Thrust right now," said Capt.
Jared Wilson. "This is the decisive part of the operation because
if we do not get on the mountain, we will not be able to accomplish
this mission."
Before boarding the helicopters, Wilson warned his troops about
the dangers of the operation.
"I want you to understand the seriousness of what you are about
to do. We are landing fully loaded CH-47s on the top of a mountain.
This is a highly dangerous mission. On the top of those dangers,
we're going to an area where no one has been for years," he
said.
Their new encampment is remote - more than 60 miles from the
nearest ground forces - but Wilson said that serves as an
advantage.
"The enemy did not suspect we would come up here. They believe
they have a safe haven area up here because it has been untouched
by coalition troops for years," he said.
Once down on the mountain ridge, soldiers went to work setting
up defense positions and firing mortar rounds into the valleys to
test their equipment and check ranges.
Standing guard with an M-16 rifle on a ridge line, Spc. Daniel
Borisow, 23, from Akron, NY, looked down into the valley at a
smattering of mud huts. He said he was ready to fight.
"For once we are in the position where we're going to take the
fight to the enemy instead of us rolling through (in Humvees) and
them attacking us," he said.
The open-ended offensive aims to hunt down Taliban fighters
blamed for an onslaught of ambushes and bombings in recent months,
the worst spate of militant violence since 2001.
More than 500 people - most of them militants - have been killed
in the past month as insurgents launched increasingly bold attacks
on coalition forces. More than 90 suspected militants have been
killed the past few days, the coalition says.
At least nine coalition soldiers have been killed since
mid-May.
On Sunday, Taliban militants fatally shot a former chief of one
of Helmand province's districts and four of his bodyguards in an
ambush of their convoy, provincial spokesman Ghulam Mohiudin said.
The official, Jama Gul, was traveling between Sangin and Grishk
districts.
Southern Helmand was also the scene of fighting Saturday, when
British troops killed six Taliban fighters near Kajaki dam, a
British spokesman, Capt. Drew Gibson, reported Sunday.
Militants had been firing mortars the past few day in an attempt
to damage the dam, and British forces "tightened security in this
area," Gibson said.
In nearby Zabul province, a joint operation between police and
coalition soldiers in Shahjoy district killed two suspected
militants. Two other wounded insurgents were captured, said the
provincial police chief, Noor Mohammed Paktin.
(Chinadaily.com via agencies June 19, 2006)
