Getting your player ready...
WASHINGTON — Thousands of U.S. Marines and hundreds of Afghan troops moved into Taliban-infested villages with armor and helicopters Wednesday evening in the first major operation under President Barack Obama’s revamped strategy to stabilize Afghanistan.
The offensive was launched early today in Helmand province, a Taliban stronghold in the southern part of the country. The goal is to clear insurgents from the hotly contested Helmand River Valley before the Aug. 20 presidential election.
Dubbed Operation Khanjar, or “Strike of the Sword,” the military push was described by officials as the largest and fastest-moving of the war’s new phase. British forces led similar missions last week in Helmand and neighboring Kandahar provinces.
