Embed pictures of US marines in anti-Taliban operations
(17 Oct 2009) SHOTLIST PLEASE NOTE - AP TELEVISION WAS EMBEDDED WITH US MILITARY AND SUBJECT TO US MILITARY REPORTING RESTRICTIONS Exact dates unknown ++DAY SHOTS++ 1. Marines with Alpha Company, Task Force Raider, 2nd Recon Battalion, embark a C-130 2. Marines on board plane en route to a mission in Helmand province 3. Marines debark from plane 4. Marines board a helicopter en route to a mission 5. Marines walking towards helicopters 6. Helicopter taking off, as viewed from guard tower with a machine gun and camouflage netting 7. Dust as helicopter departs 8. Back shots of machine gunner sitting at the open rear of helicopter as terrain passes below 9. Marines getting off helicopter ++NIGHT SHOTS++ 10. Various of marines with Alpha Company, Task Force Raider being moved in a helicopter at night 11. Unit's captain looking at map 12. Unit's captain ordering the start of a night operation 13. Various of marines moving in the dark through cornfields ++DUSK SHOTS++ 14. Various of marines hiking back to a temporary staging area 15. Various of marines in temporary staging area 16. Marines sitting around two small fires, heating dinner from aluminium cans STORYLINE US Marines continued with their anti-Taliban operations in Afghanistan this week, as the number of American service members killed in the country this month reached 28, according to an Associated Press count. An AP television crew embedded for three days with the US marines, Alpha Company, Task Force Raider, 2nd Recon Battalion filmed troops patrolling in Helmand Province. Task Force Raider is a strike force which conducts raids targeting Taliban networks in the troubled region. The NATO-led coalition says bomb attacks have killed three American troops in Afghanistan. The international force says two American troops were killed in an explosion in the troubled nation's east on Friday. Another US service member was killed the same day in a bombing in the south. The coalition announced the deaths in a statement on Saturday. No further details were released. Insurgent violence has increased across Afghanistan this year, coinciding with a boost in U.S. military strength - now at more than 65,000. The political crisis in the country, and rising US casualties in the war against insurgents, have prompted the Obama administration to review its entire Afghanistan war strategy. International pressure was mounting Saturday on Afghanistan's president to respect imminent findings from a fraud investigation that seem likely to force him into a runoff. At the same time, envoys were urging both candidates to strike a deal to end the country's election crisis rather than actually going forward with a potentially divisive and costly second vote. The Aug. 20 poll was marred by charges of ballot-stuffing and voter coercion, mostly to Karzai's benefit. The fraud decisions - set to be announced as early as Saturday - could force a runoff between him and top challenger Abdullah Abdullah. Obama is not expected to decide on a new strategy until the Afghans determine whether they must hold the runoff. 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...
