NATO to begin heavy operation in Afghanistan

NATO to begin heavy operation in Afghanistan

SOMAK SEN

The southern part of Afghanistan is about to receive a massive blow from the heavily-armed thousands of North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces (NATO) and Afghan National Army within few hours. It would possibly be the largest blow against the Taliban and hidden Al-Qaeda militants in this mountainous country since 2001.

According to the report by NATO officials, who met in Istanbul on Thursday (February 4), the joint forces would target the suspected Taliban outfits in the Helmand province of southern Afghanistan. The prime target would probably be the Marjah area, where around 1,000 dreadful Taliban ‘jihadis’ (militants) are supposed to be hidden. It is remarkable to note that Marjah is one of the famous opium production centres of Afghanistan, entirely controlled by the Taliban militants. The opium cultivation is one of the sources of revenue of the Talibans to carry on their militancy around the country.

The US marine corps has been attempting their best to inform the innocents to vacate the area by broadcasting the news. Many leaflets have also been distributed among the common people in the last five days. The action resembled to the Fallujah attack in Iraq by the US forces where the people had been informed earlier before the nut cracked. Nearly thirty-two (32) Taliban militants were gunned down while three NATO soldiers also lost their lives in scattered incidents in the Nad Ali district in these days. Daud Ahmadi, the spokesman of the provincial government confirmed the report of deaths.

While welcoming the anti-Taliban movement, the concerned officials of the Ministry of Defence stated that such a move is important to bring the region’s ongoing turbulent situation under the control of the country’s military and police department. While speaking to the media, Mohammad Zahir Azimi, a defence spokesman said, “It will be a joint Afghan army, police, US Marines and ISAF forces operation led by Afghans.”

In this joint operation, a huge contingent of the Afghan National Army has also been sent to counter the Taliban militants. According to the reports, the Taliban ‘jihadis’ have also vowed to face the joint forces till death. While speaking to the media, Eric Tremblay, a NATO spokesman, stated that the objective behind the operation in Helmand is to “clear, hold and build, and deliver alternatives for all the Afghans”. While almost 1,13,000 US and NATO soldiers are present in Afghanistan, a contingent of another 40,000 will be deployed there shortly.