Marjah (Afghanistan): Thousands of US-led
troops battling to capture a militant bastion in southern
Afghanistan ran into fresh resistance on Wednesday from Taliban
"human shields" and hidden bombs.
US, Afghan and NATO generals spent months planning the
assault on the drugs and Taliban nexus of Marjah, home to
around 80,000 people in southern Afghanistan, which gave
insurgents time to mine roads, buildings and trees.
Five days into Operation Mushtarak ("Together"), officers
said progress has slowed because of multitudes of hidden bombs
in the farming district of Helmand province that drug lords
and the Taliban have controlled for years.
In Washington, US President Barack Obama will convene his
war cabinet to assess the first major test of his "surge"
raising the number of foreign troops in Afghanistan to 150,000
by August in a bid to end the eight-year war.
The meeting also follows the capture by US and Pakistani
spies of the Taliban`s top military commander. The arrest of
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, which was confirmed by the
Pakistani military today, could deal a huge blow to the
insurgency that is trying to bring down the Afghan government.
On the ground, the top Afghan general in the battle on
Wednesday accused the Taliban of hiding behind human shields.
"They have taken people hostage. Our troops have seen
them putting women and children on the roofs of houses and
firing from behind them," said General Moheedin Ghori,
commander of the 4,400 Afghan troops taking part.
PTI
