By DPA,
Kabul : Hundreds of Afghan and US forces launched an operation in a Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan Wednesday to flush out militants before next week’s presidential election.
About 100 Afghan soldiers and 400 US marines began the offensive, dubbed Operation Eastern Resolve II, in the Naw Zad district of Helmand province ahead of the Aug 20 vote, the US military said in a statement.
The operation aimed “to disrupt insurgent violence and intimidation campaigns and provide freedom of movement for Afghan citizens to have the opportunity to vote in upcoming provincial and national elections”, it said.
About 4,000 US marines were deployed in Helmand province in June, joining 8,000 British troops stationed there. The US marines were part of the more than 20,000 additional US troops deployed in the country this year as part of US President Barack Obama’s troop surge.
The combined US and British forces along with Afghan troops began assaults July 2 against the Taliban in Helmand, recapturing a district, but then the operation was hampered by heavy casualties. A total of 75 international soldiers were killed in July, most of them in Helmand.
The US marines also provided helicopter lifts and other aviation support for Wednesday’s mission, the US military statement said.
Afghan election commission officials said earlier this week that due to security concerns, the commission would not be able to hold elections in around 10 districts unless Afghan and NATO forces provide enough security there.
At least four of the 10 districts are in Helmand province, but given the short time before the vote, it was unlikely that security forces could fulfil the commission’s demand.
More than 100,000 international troops and around 200,000 Afghan security forces are to provide security for more than 6,500 polling centres on election day, the second in Afghanistan’s recent history.