NATO Says 30 Days Needed to Secure Marjah
VOA News18 February 2010
NATO commanders in southern Afghanistan says allied troops will need 25 to 30 days to overcome what he called "stiff resistance" from Taliban fighters and secure Marjah.
British Major General Nick Carter told reporters Thursday that the 15,000 Afghan and NATO troops involved are moving carefully to try to avoid civilian casualties and roadside bombs.
NATO reported four troops were killed in the offensive on Thursday. Three died from two improvised bomb blasts, and the fourth was killed by small arms fire.
General Carter said it could be three months before officials are able to determine if the offensive, called Operation Moshtarak, is successful.
Also Thursday, the governor of Afghanistan's Helmand visited Marjah for the first time, six days after the offensive began.
Governor Gulab Mangal said a convoy of Afghan national police had arrived in Marjah. Afghan officials are planning to quickly deploy government workers and security forces to begin providing security, services and jobs.
Since the operation started late Saturday, at least nine NATO soldiers and 15 civilians have been killed. Officials have said troops have killed about 40 Taliban militants.
Meanwhile, in northern Afghanistan Thursday, Afghan officials said a NATO air strike mistakenly killed seven Afghan police and wounded two others. A spokesman for the Afghan interior ministry said NATO forces came under Taliban attack and called in an airstrike, which mistakenly hit a nearby group of Afghan police.
NATO forces later released a statement pledging to fully support a joint investigation with the Afghan government.
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