Thousands of US Marines launch huge anti-Taliban drive in Helmand Province
(2 Jul 2009) SHOTLIST PLEASE NOTE THIS MATERIAL WAS FILMED BY AN ASSOCIATED PRESS CREW EMBEDDED WITH THE US MILITARY Bastian, Helmand Province - 1 July 2009 1. Wide of US Marines Alfa and Bravo Company, first battalion 5th Marine Regiment, waiting in Bastian base in Helmand province for start of assault against Taliban 2. Wide of Helicopter and US Marines Bastian, Helmand Province - 2 July 2009 ++IMAGES ARE IN RED LIGHT BECAUSE OPERATIONAL SECURITY AND US MARINES ONLY ALLOW USE OF RED LIGHT++ ++NIGHT SHOTS++ 3. Tilt down from US Marine holding riffle before boarding helicopter ahead of assault 4. Wide of helicopter with US Marine standing in front 5. Pan of Marines standing in line 6. Tracking shot of US Marines walking towards helicopter 7. Tilt up of US Marine taking seat in helicopter Nawa, Helmand Province - 2 July 2009 ++DAY SHOTS++ 8. Various of US Marine looking through gun in Nawa district, which is controlled by Taliban militants 9. Wide of US Marines in position with rifle in foreground 10. Close of Marine in position holding gun 11. Various of US Marines on patrol in Nawa district 12. US Marines in position 13. SOUNDBITE: (English) Captain Drew Schoenmaker, Marine Corps Captain, Bravo Company: "The aim of the assault was to put Marine Corps forces back expeditionary-wise out behind enemy lines. We dropped in to a few places that nobody had been." 14. Tracking shot of US Marine in position STORYLINE: Thousands of US Marines poured from helicopters and armoured vehicles into Taliban-controlled villages of southern Afghanistan on Thursday in the first major operation under President Barack Obama's strategy to stabilise the country. The offensive was launched shortly after 1 a.m. on Thursday local time (2030 GMT, Wednesday) in Helmand province, a Taliban stronghold and the world's largest opium poppy producing area. The goal is to clear insurgents from the restive region before the nation's August 20 presidential election. Officials described the operation, dubbed Khanjar, or "Strike of the Sword," as the largest and fastest-moving of the war's new phase and the biggest Marine offensive since the one in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004. It involves nearly four-thousand newly arrived Marines plus 650 Afghan forces. British forces last week led similar, but smaller, missions to clear out insurgents in Helmand and neighbouring Kandahar province. Transport helicopters carried hundreds of Marines into the village of Nawa, some 20 miles (30 kilometres) south of the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah, in a region where no US or other NATO troops have operated in large numbers. The troops took many insurgents by surprise, dropping behind Taliban lines, said Captain Drew Schoenmaker, from Greene, New York. "The aim of the assault was to put Marine Corps forces back expeditionary-wise out behind enemy lines. We dropped in to a few places that nobody had been," said Schoenmaker, 31, who commands Bravo Company of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. Daybreak brought the sporadic crackle of gunfire. Medical helicopters circled overhead and landed, indicating possible early casualties among the Marines. A marine unit in Nawa traded gunfire with a group of some 20 insurgents, while Afghan troops exchanged small arms fire with militants after they were attacked with rocket propelled grenades fired from several houses. A Cobra helicopter circling overhead for most of the day fired rockets at a tree-line nearby. Other troops walked through fields of corn and past mud-wall homes. Only a handful of villagers dared to venture outside. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
