The United States army says it has launched a major offensive against the Taliban in the southern Afghan province of Helmand.

The US military says about 4,000 marines as well as 650 Afghan troops are involved, supported by Nato planes.

Brigadier General Larry Nicholson said the operation was different from previous ones because of the "massive size of the force" and its speed.

Officers on the ground said it was the largest marine offensive since Vietnam.

It is the first such operation under President Barack Obama's presidency.

The operation began when units moved into the Helmand river valley in the early hours of Thursday.

Helicopters and heavy transport vehicles carried out the advance, with Nato planes providing air cover.

Security aim

Southern Afghanistan is considered a Taliban stronghold.

"Where we go we will stay, and where we stay, we will hold, build and work toward transition of all security responsibilities to Afghan forces," said Brig Gen Nicholson in a statement.

At a briefing at the US military's Camp Leatherneck last week, he told personnel and embedded reporters: "One of the most critical things is to tell people why we're there, and we are going to have a limited opportunity to gain their trust."

The operation would have an initial highly aggressive stage lasting 36 hours, AFP news agency reported.

It aims to improve security ahead of presidential elections on 20 August, allowing voter registration where before there was none, Gen Nicholson said.

A US military spokesman, Captain William Pelletier, told the BBC there had been "no enemy contact" in the first hours of the operation, but one marine was slightly injured when an improvised explosive device detonated.

He said the US military was prepared for casualties, but stressed that "it is absolutely essential that no civilians be harmed".

Helmand Governor Gulab Mangal predicted the operation would be "very effective".

"The security forces will build bases to provide security for the local people so that they can carry out every activity with this favourable background, and take their lives forward in peace."

Troop numbers

 As of June 2009, Nato's International Security Assistance Force had 61,130 personnel from 42 countries including the US, Canada, European countries, Australia, Jordan and New Zealand.

The US is the largest contributor, providing 28,850 soldiers.

It also has troops under Operation Enduring Freedom - mostly in the east of Afghanistan on the border with Pakistan - that are not under Isaf's command.

In December 2008 they numbered 17,100.

President Obama has pledged to send an additional 21,000 extra soldiers to Afghanistan, many of them redeployed from operations in Iraq, to help with training Afghan security forces and to tackle the insurgency.

UK troops are also operating in Helmand, but there has been criticism that British forces have been overstretched and under-resourced.

Last week the commander of UK troops in Afghanistan, General Jim Dutton, denied that the battle against the Taliban was "a losing campaign".

Gen Dutton welcomed the planned increase in US troop numbers.

"I am convinced that the addition of those [US] troops is going to improve the security situation," he said.


2nd July 2009

Source: BBC News