Taliban ofensive in southern Afghan

district 'worst fghting in years

Afghan men, right, walk past a U! soldier to attend a meeting in "asher district,
#elmand province, in August $%&& 'Abdul (hale)*A+,
-y .rin /unningham August $0 at 0122 +3
LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan The Taliban came at night, slipping into Sarwan Qala
village and scaling the roofs of its md!ba"ed homes to fire on police and arm#
chec"points nearb#$
The incursion by hundreds of fighters in June sent residents fleeing to neighboring hamlets by
donkey and on foot. It was the first salvo in a massive, ongoing Taliban offensive against
Afghan security forces in southeastern Afghanistan.
The increasingl# blood# campaign shows the strength of the insrgents, who have been
emboldened b# the %$S$ militar# withdrawal from the area in &a#, local residents and
Afghan secrit# forces said$ The otcome of the fighting in the Sangin district, which
incldes Sarwan Qala, will be a bellwether for how Afghanistan's national police and
arm# might fare after foreign troops leave the contr# at the end of the #ear$
Sangin is critical to both sides becase of its prime spot in Helmand province, a popp#!
growing region that has long provided the Taliban with drg! and weapons!smggling
rotes$ (t also borders Ka)a"i to the north, where a %$S$!bilt h#dropower dam is
spposed to chrn ot electricit# for mch of sothern Afghanistan$ *t insrgents ct
the cable long ago, leaving the province withot power$
+ift# %$S$ &arines lost their lives in fierce battles in ,-.- and ,-.. aimed at depriving
the Taliban of a base in Sangin$ The crrent campaign, too, is casing heav# casalties$
The governor of Helmand province, &ohammad /aeem, said recentl# that as man# as
0-- people, inclding both civilians and combatants, have been "illed in the fighting$
Sangin is a big test,1 he said in an interview at his fortified residence in Lash"ar
Gah, Helmand's capital$
He said Afghan troops are 2moving slowl#1 becase the Taliban fighters have laid
hndreds of land mines across the district$ 2*t God willing the# will not ta"e the
district center,1 he said$ (f the militants overran the center, he said, the# wold be able
to sei3e several volatile districts nearb#$ 2(f the# ta"e it, it will be a hge problem$1
Taming the insurgency
*ritish troops first deplo#ed to Sangin, a verdant patch of melon and popp# fields, to
crb Taliban advances in ,--4$ *t the# strggled to tame the insrgenc#$ (n ,-.-,
the &arines arrived in the district, where the# wold sffer the %$S$ militar#'s worst
concentration of fatalities in the war$ The &arines withdrew from the district in &a#,
trning it over to Afghan secrit# forces$
/ow, %$S$ troops are operating in a strictl# advisor# role, and no foreign advisers or
soldiers from the /AT5!led coalition's command in sothern Afghanistan are
operating on the grond in Sangin, a coalition spo"esman said$ 2The fighting has been
difficlt at times, and some chec"points have e6changed hands,1 said %$S$ &arine Lt$
Garth Langle#, a media officer for the coalition in sothwestern Afghanistan$
According to Gen$ Ghlam Sa"hi, a brigade commander with an elite Afghan national
police nit in Sangin, Afghan forces too" bac" seven "e# chec"points in Sarwan Qala
earlier this month$ *t be#ond chec"points and the district's central ba3aar, a roghl#
one!mile stretch lined with small shops, the Afghan government controls little in the
district$
7ail# battles between the secrit# forces and insrgents "eep residents confined to
their homes$ Residents and police sa# secrit# otposts come nder constant fire from
Taliban insrgents$ 8hile the militants sed to engage with %$S$ forces onl# briefl#
often staging hit!and!rn attac"s the# are now fighting for prolonged periods,
Afghan secrit# forces sa#$
9olice sa# the# feel otgnned b# their opponents, who the# claim are armed with
sophisticated e:ipment li"e precision sniper rifles, night vision goggles and
thosands of potent improvised e6plosive devices$
This is the worst fighting in the eight #ears ( have been a policeman in Sangin,1 said
Said ;an Agha, <=, who commanded a chec"point in the village of Gmbat, abot a
half!mile from the district center$
Agha sffered a bllet in)r# to his spine dring a firefight with insrgents and was
being treated at the province's onl# war trama facilit#, the Srgical >enter for 8ar
?ictims in Lash"ar Gah$ (n the ward ne6t door, policeman Khoda# /oor said he was
wonded in a battle with Taliban fighters at a separate chec"point in Gmbat, after
insrgents tnneled ,-- #ards to ambsh the officers at their otpost at night$
8e can't go far the villages are dangeros,1 said /oor, ,@$ 2&a#be the# AvillagersB
are with s, bt ma#be the# are with the Taliban$1
(nsrgents 2have covered a lot of area1 in Sangin, he said$ 25r secrit# belt arond
the district center is neven, and the# are ver# close in some places$1
The toll of fghting
(n the intensive care nit at the Srgical >enter in Lash"ar Gah, rn b# the
international nonprofit organi3ation Cmergenc#, the intensit# of the fighting is
reflected in horrific in)ries and a constant stream of trama patients$
&ore than @,--- people with war!related in)ries were treated from ;anar# throgh
;l# at a separate field clinic operated b# Cmergenc# in Sangin, the organi3ation said$
Abot 4-- of them received care in ;l# alone$
5n a recent da#, a policeman who was delirios after a roadside bomb shredded his
legs arrived at the hospital in Lash"ar Gah mmbling his name, &atillah$ He had
come from Sangin$ An elder from the district, ;ma Khan, was recovering from a bllet
in)r# to his arm$ He sffered the wond when shots were fired at him and his children
on the road to the local mar"et, "illing his daghter, .-!#ear!old (slami#a$
8hen the government too" over Afrom the %$S$ &arinesB, the fighting started,1 said
+athi &omand, a white!bearded popp# farmer from Sarwan Qala who was in)red in
the legs and abdomen b# a shell the night the Taliban came to his village in ;ne$
2Then the government retreated and told s the# cold not help s an#more$1
The Taliban want to ta"e the districts,1 he said, wincing from the gaping bed sore he
ac:ired from wee"s in the hospital$ 2(f there is one power in the districts, there will be
peace$ (f not, there will be fighting$1
&ohammad Sharif in Kabl contribted to this report$
9osted b# Thavam