Marines Draw Out Taliban in Helmand Province
(January 26, 2010) |
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| HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Jan. 22, 2010 – Stepping
gingerly over rocks and uneven ground, Marines from Alpha
Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, and the Afghan
National Army soldiers attached to them, patrolled to the
north of Observation Post Huskars here Jan. 18.
The patrol stalked through a small, barren crop, just large
enough to sustain the inhabitants of a nearby compound,
which now lay abandoned. As the column made its way past
homes and farms, there was a rising sense that something was
amiss; there wasn't a villager in sight.
Passing through a small archway in a mud wall and out across
an open plateau, the Marines' suspicions were realized as
several flat and hollow cracks rang out. Dust kicked up
around ankles, and clumps of dirt flew from the walls as
bullets struck all around the patrol. Sprinting to get
behind cover to return fire, the Marines had achieved their
objective. They had located the Taliban. |
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Snipers attached to Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, take aim at insurgents during a firefight in Afghanistan's Helmand province, Jan. 18, 2010. Patrols have been increased in an effort to push the Taliban back and create a buffer for villages friendly to coalition forces in the region. |
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For the next five hours, Marines and Afghan soldiers traded
fire with insurgents. The sun had set by the time the patrol
withdrew, and they had uncovered a cache of about 1,300
pounds of ammonium nitrate, which is a prime ingredient in
homemade explosives and against Afghan law to own. One
suspect was detained, several insurgents were wounded or
killed, and there were no Afghan army or Marine casualties.
"The original goal of the patrol was to do [census
operations] and see who was living in the buildings,"
explained Marine Corps 1st Lt. Shaun Miller, the company's
executive officer. "We wanted to get the lay of the land and
interact with local leaders and elders."
Although the initial plan was to interact with villagers in
the north, each time the Marines pushed beyond the walls of
Observation Post Huskars, they took fire from insurgents.
"Every time we've gone out on patrol we've gotten into
firefights," said Miller, who paused for a moment to speak
over a radio to a Marine on patrol who had reported seeing a
rocket-propelled grenade gunner. "We've been here for five
days and have launched over 20 patrols, and as soon as we go
more than one mile outside of the wire, we encounter heavy
enemy resistance. It's like [the Taliban] are drawn to us."
The increase in patrols and subsequent engagements with
insurgents serves to buffer friendly villages to the south
of Observation Post Huskars from the Taliban north of the
Marines' position.
"To the north, the majority of the compounds are abandoned
and are being used by insurgents," explained Miller.
"However, in the south, villagers have asked for our help,
[and have] even led us to where improvised explosive devices
were planted so that we could destroy them."
As the light began to fade and the Marines switched to night
vision, infrequent tracer rounds and pop shots would clip
and skim over the compound where the patrol had taken
refuge. Meanwhile, they waited for explosive ordinance
disposal Marines to arrive and destroy the homemade
explosive ingredients found earlier in the day.
With the events of the day behind them and the bomb
ingredients destroyed, the patrol set off toward its camp to
catch a few hours of rest before going out again the
following morning. | |
Article and photo by
USMC LCpl. James W. Clark
1st Marine Division's Regimental Combat Team 7 public
affairs office
Special to American Forces Press Service
Copyright 2010
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