Thousands of US Marines have been deployed in Afghanistan's Taliban heartlands in an air and ground assault that marks a high-risk test of President Barack Obama's new war plan.
Dozens of aircraft ferried out nearly 4000 US forces from various bases before dawn yesterday, aiming to take the fight deep into the insurgent bastions of Helmand province in the country's south before Afghan elections next month.
It was the marines' first major operation since they deployed recently as part of 21,000 US reinforcements pledged by Mr Obama in an aggressive US strategy to turn the tide on the dragging conflict with the Taliban.
Marines commander Brigadier-General Larry Nicholson said, ''What makes Operation Khanjar different from those that have occurred before is the massive size of the force introduced; the speed at which it will insert.''
Several hours into the marines' biggest battle since Fallujah, in Iraq in November 2004, the only US casualties listed were two concussions from an improvised explosive device in Nawa district towards the border with Pakistan. ''Our aim is for us to be meeting local people within hours, and that's what we'll be doing for the next seven or eight months,'' General Nicholson said.
Operation Khanjar (Strike of the Sword), also involving about 650 Afghan police and soldiers, would bring security to the Helmand River valley before Afghanistan's presidential elections on August 20, commanders said.
A fleet of helicopters lifted about 300 soldiers from a camp called Dwyer at dawn. Their commander was confident they would have cleared a key road, secured a bridge and met with villagers by evening.
Captain Junwei Sun, commanding officer of 2/8 Battalion's Fox Company, said, ''I told my men everything they have done to prepare for this operation means they are ready to go.'' Afghan security forces were driving out to their targeted area, where the forces would meet, he said.
''We expect to encounter resistance and come into enemy contact,'' the captain added. The first highly aggressive phase of the operation was set to last 36 hours, commanders said. The troops were to push south down the Helmand River valley, deep into insurgent-held areas where international forces have failed to establish a presence despite ousting the Taliban from power in 2001.
Military commanders said Operation Khanjar would persuade local people the Afghan security forces, backed by Western troops, offered them a better long-term future than the Islamist hardliners.
''This is a big, risky plan,'' General Nicholson told his men at a briefing at Camp Leatherneck in the run-up to the battle's launch.
''It involves great risks and amazing opportunities.
''These are days of immense change for Helmand province. We're going down there, and we're going to stay that's what is different this time.'' Reflecting the new US strategy, he stressed that the security needs of Helmand's residents came before killing Taliban.
''One of the most critical things is to tell people why we're there, and we are going to have a limited opportunity to gain their trust,'' General Nicholson said. Key targets of the air and land assault include the districts of Nawa and nearby Garmsir, where many of the insurgents are said to take refuge and produce the opium that funds militants. AFP