STONES CORNER: * US Military in Afghanistan

My Prestigious Followers

An American soldier holds a U.S. Army hand grenade on which a soldier wrote “One free trip to Allah” while at an observation post in the Paktika province of Afghanistan Oct. 20, 2006 overlooking the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. The outpost, only 800 meters from the Pakistan, is frequently attacked by Taliban forces, many of whom cross over from the South Waziristan tribal area of Pakistan, according to American soldiers. Most Taliban believe they are fighting a holy war or “jihad” against non-Muslims in Afghanistan, and those who die in jihad are promised an eternity in paradise.



Artillerymen fire a 155mm Howlitzer at a Taliban position October 22, 2008 from Camp Blessing in the Kunar Province of eastern Afghanistan. Their unit, Charlie Battery, 3rd Battalion of the 321 Field Artillery, has fired more than 5,900 shells since they deployed to Afghanistan less than a year ago, making it the busiest artillery unit in the U.S. Army, according to to military officers. They most often fire in support of Army infantry units fighting Taliban insurgents in the nearby Korengal Valley, the site of some of the heaviest fighting in Afghanistan.



U.S. Marine 2nd Lt. Mark Greenleaf, from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, calls orders to his men as they return fire on Taliban positions near the town of Garmser in Helmand Province of Afghanistan Friday May 2, 2008.



U.S. Marines, from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, return fire on Taliban positions near the town of Garmser in Helmand Province of Afghanistan Friday May 2, 2008.



A suspected Taliban insurgent is detained by Afghan forces during a joint operation between Afghan and Pakistani troops on their volatile border between the Afghan Paktika province and Pakistan’s South Waziristan tribal area on October 19, 2006, Afghanistan. The U.S. Army coordinated the joint operation in an effort to improve coordination between the two armies on the porous border, the site of constant Taliban incursions and attacks. Afghan and Pakistani forces each searched compounds on their respective sides of the border, coordinating through American radio contact


U.S. Marines, from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, return fire on Taliban positions near the town of Garmser in Helmand Province of Afghanistan Friday May 2, 2008.



British troops from 13th Air Assault Regiment and a U.S. Marine from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, forth from right, watch as palettes of water bottles drift to the ground on parachutes as NATO planes make a resupply airdrop to a forward operating base in southern Afghanistan Saturday, April 26, 2008. Some 3,500 U.S. Marines arrived in Afghanistan to help NATO’s increasingly bloody fight against the Taliban.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment