British-led forces launch major Afghan operation

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

British-led forces launch major Afghan operation
Wed Sep 19, 2007 7:56am EDT

By Abdul Qudoos

LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan (Reuters) - British-led
forces launched a major operation in southern
Afghanistan on Wednesday, aiming to clear Taliban
insurgents from a valley in Helmand -- the most
violent province in the country.

Some 2,500 troops from the NATO-led force began
the operation on Wednesday morning with infantry
backed by Warrior armored vehicles, guided rocket
systems, attack helicopters and fighter jets, a
spokesman for the British forces in Helmand said.

"The purpose of the operation is to continue to
remove the Taliban from the area north of Gereshk,
to set the conditions whereby the people who live
there can start to enjoy security and the government
... can begin to apply governance and development,"
Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Eaton said.

The operation is under British command and most of
the troops are British, but the force also includes
Afghan soldiers and contingents from the Czech
Republic, Estonia and the United States.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSISL10363620070919

---

Source: Associated Press

NATO launches new Afghan operation

By RAHIM FAIEZ, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 16 minutes ago

KABUL, Afghanistan - NATO forces launched a new military
operation Wednesday in Afghanistan's most violent southern
province, while the alliance said it was investigating a
shipment of weapons intercepted near the border with
Iran this month.

About 2,500 Afghan and NATO troops began the operation
in the Gereshk region of Helmand province, the site of the
fiercest battles this year and the world's largest opium-
producing region.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force said the
troops would conduct military "security and stabilization"
operations in the upper Gereshk Valley, but provided no
other details.

Meanwhile, a NATO spokesman said ISAF was investigating
the source of a weapons shipment recently intercepted by
troops in Farah province near the Iranian border.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070919/ap_on_re_as/afghanistan