Marines in Afghan town meet fire from all sides

updated 7:15 p.m. ET Aug. 13, 2009

DAHANEH, Afghanistan - U.S. aircraft and missiles pounded Taliban mountainside positions around Dahaneh on Thursday as Marines pushed through mudbrick compounds searching for militants in the second day of fighting to seize this strategic southern town.

Also in the south, four NATO service members — three British and one American — were killed in separate explosions Thursday, military officials said.

August's casualty count is likely to surpass the record 75 deaths U.S. and NATO troops suffered in July, the deadliest month for the international force in the nearly eight-year war. The violence comes as Afghans prepare to vote in Aug. 20 presidential elections.

U.S. Marines launched a major assault Wednesday against Taliban forces in Dahaneh, a town of 2,000 people that controls major trade routes in the northern part of Helmand, the southern province that has become center stage in the war.

By Thursday evening, the Marines and Afghan troops had managed to take about half the town, with Taliban resistance tougher than expected.

As sporadic clashes continued in Dahaneh, Marine Cobra attack helicopters fired rockets at Taliban positions in the nearby mountains where militants were believed firing at troops in the town.

Later, U.S. A-10 fighter-bombers fired multiple rounds into the barren, rocky cliffs overlooking what the Marines call "Hell's Pass," the entrance into the Now Zad valley, and U.S. surface-to-surface missiles, fired from the main Marine base, pounded the hillsides.

Heavy fire
Meanwhile in the town, Marines came under heavy machine gun fire as they moved through the streets and alleyways.

"It's coming at us 360 degrees, but we knew they'd try to surround us," said Cpl. Kilani Garber of Middleville, Mich., as the troops ducked for cover.

As they moved through parts of the town abandoned by the Taliban, Marines kicked down or detonated the doors of several compounds from where insurgents were seen firing during the opening day of the assault. In one compound, troops found numerous empty Kalashnikov bullet casings and a few used heroin syringes.

"They want to fight, then they don't want to fight; we're getting mixed signals from these guys," said Cpl. Mack Williams, 22, from Spruce Pine, N.C., as his unit met yet another outburst of light arms fire in the late afternoon.

At sunset, a Humvee mounted with a loudspeaker drove through neighborhoods the Marines had cleared, broadcasting to residents in their Pashto language that they could register complaints and get compensation for damage suffered in the fighting.

Most residents appeared to have fled those neighborhoods. Most of those remained were elderly.

"The people here are hostile to outsiders. Even if they're not all with the Taliban, they're against us," said Sgt. Hazibullah, who led an Afghan national army unit with the Marines. He gave only one name.

Ousting the Taliban
About 400 Marines and 100 Afghan troops are taking part in the operation to capture Dahaneh — the third major push by U.S. and British forces this summer into Taliban-controlled areas of Helmand. The province is the center of Afghanistan's lucrative opium business and scene of some of the heaviest fighting of the Afghan war.

The main goals of the latest operation are to oust the Taliban from the area, cut off smuggling routes from neighboring Pakistan, and offer enough security to civilians so that they can vote during the elections next Thursday. The Marines hope to secure Dahaneh fast enough to set up a voting site, which would be the only one in this district.

Sgt. Hazibullah said a voting center could probably be established here by next week but it was unlikely anyone would vote out of fear of Taliban reprisals.

In London, the British Ministry of Defense said the three British soldiers died when their foot patrol was hit by a bomb near the Helmand town of Sangin, south of Dahaneh. The U.S. statement gave no details of where the American was killed.

MORE FROM SOUTH & CENTRAL ASIA

South & Central Asia Section Front

Afghan avalanches kill more than 150 U.S. troops close in on Afghan town Political supporters clash in streets of Sri Lanka Pakistani Taliban leader's fate still fuzzy World Blog: Did 'pandering' cost U.S. lives at Afghan base? NATO: Afghans to play big role in offensive Wild West motif lightens mood at Afghan base Pakistan: 6 held in plot to attack Americans South & Central Asia Section Front   Add South & Central Asia headlines to your news reader: