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Coalition Forces Push on in Afghan Offensive

   VOA News 15 February 2010
   U.S. Marines point their rifles, scanning for Taliban fighters as they
   cover  the  departure  of a U.S. Army Pegasus medevac helicopter which
   picked up a wounded Marine from their unit, in Marjah,

Photo: AP

   U.S. Marines point their rifles, scanning for Taliban fighters as they
   cover  the  departure  of a U.S. Army Pegasus medevac helicopter which
   picked  up  a  wounded  Marine  from  their  unit,  in Marjah, Helmand
   province, southern Afghanistan, Saturday Feb. 13, 2010. U.S. Army Task
   Force  Pegasus  aero-medical crews are are supporting U.S. Marines who
   are  taking  the  Taliban-held  town of Marjah in a major offensive to
   break   the   extremists'  grip  over  their  southern  heartland  and
   re-establish government control. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

   U.S.-led  forces  in  Afghanistan  pressed forward Monday with a major
   offensive   to  clear  Taliban  militants  out  of  their  last  major
   stronghold in the southern province of Helmand.
   Some 15,000 U.S., British and Afghan troops are involved in operations
   centering  on the town of Marjah, in the biggest joint-operation since
   the war began in 2001.
   Efforts  to  win the support of residents in the area suffered a major
   setback Sunday when two rockets fired by coalition forces missed their
   targets, accidentally killing 12 Afghan civilians.
   NATO took responsibility for the incident.  Top commander U.S. General
   Stanley  McChrystal  conveyed his apologies to  Afghan President Hamid
   Karzai, who ordered an investigation into the deaths.
   McChrystal also suspended use of the rocket system involved.
   Afghan  officials  say  at least 27 insurgents have been killed during
   the  fighting,  while  one  U.S.  and  one British soldier were killed
   Saturday, the first day of the offensive.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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