www.spearheadresearch.org

[Ahsan Waheed]

British troops launch biggest offensive of summer in Afghanistan
Hundreds of British troops on Friday launched their biggest offensive of the summer to wrest a Taliban stronghold in Helmand from insurgent control.

By Ben Farmer in Nad-e-Ali
30 Jul 2010


A soldier firing a Light Machine Gun (LMG) inside the compound clearance range at Camp Bastion. Soldiers from the 1st Battalion the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment take part in compound clearance training prior to TOR SHEZADA Photo: MOD

Operations Tor Shezada, or Black Prince began in the early hours of Friday with helicopters ferrying soldiers miles into rebel-held territory in the southern tip of Nad-e-Ali district. Commanders said the town of Saidabad was the last town in British-garrisoned Nad-E-Ali which remains beyond the Afghan government’s control.

Troops were aiming to flush out or kill Taliban commanders responsible for attacks on neighbouring British and American troops. The small farming area around Saidabad has a population of just 6,000 people living in scattered mud-walled compounds. But up to 180 insurgents are believed to be sheltering in the area, which hosts a shadow insurgent government. It is believed to be a rat run between Nad-e-Ali and Marjah to the south, where US marines have been locked in firefight since taking the town during February’s operation Moshtarak.

“Worst case is there could be 180 fighters, best case there are 50. “The plan is to steal the area rather than to fight for it,” Frazer Lawrence, commander of forces in Nad-e-Ali, told the Daily Telegraph on the eve of the offensive, which also involves US marines from Marjah. He added that the residents were keen to have government help, particularly funding for schools.

The Daily Telegraph accompanied Corunna Company, First Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment as it pushed on foot across farmland towards the area in the dark. Habibullah, the district governor, issued radio appeals for villagers to stay inside as troops advanced. British commanders have hailed Nad-e-Ali as a beacon of progress since Taliban fighters were cleared from the district in Moshtarak.

Commerce in the district centre sharply increased over the last 12 months and the busy bazaar now has 250 shops and solar powered street lights recently fitted by the British. Soldiers believe security has improved enough to soon stop wearing helmets on town patrols. Afghans visiting bazaars in Nad-e-Ali district centre before the offensive said security had improved in recent months, though they still felt caught between rebel and Nato-led forces. Mullah Reedi Gul said the Taliban held sway less than two miles into the countryside.

“Inside the bazaar it’s very good and business is very good, but outside it is still insecure,” he said.

“When the Taliban come into our villages, they use our compounds for ambushes and then the Nato soldiers come and blame us.”

*** ** ***