Where are the Taliban? Insurgents avoiding Marines, Afghan national army in Marjah

Photo By Cpl. Tommy Bellegarde | Seaman Casey McLaughlin, a corpsman with India Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, provides security during a patrol in Marjah, Helmand province, Afghanistan, Feb. 24. Marines and Afghan national army soldiers patrolled through a residential area of the area to conduct counterinsurgency operations as part of Operation Moshtarak, a push to rid Marjah of Taliban presence and intimidation.  

MARJAH, AFGHANISTAN

03.06.2010

Story by Lance Cpl. Tommy Bellegarde  

I Marine Expeditionary Force

MARJAH, Afghanistan — The Marines from India Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, patrol down the dusty streets of Marjah, Helmand province, Afghanistan, Feb. 25, aware of their surroundings and looking for any signs of trouble.

As they approach a mud house, soldiers from the Afghan national army knock on the door to notify residents that troops will be searching the property.

The troops are looking for insurgents, weapons caches and improvised explosive device-making material, because Marjah is believed to be one of the last Taliban strongholds in Afghanistan. The residents are more than happy to cooperate.

One local said that the Taliban threatened to kill his family unless they grew opium on their property.

Unfortunately, this is a common scenario for the residents of Marjah.

The Marines believe this kind of treatment has caused the locals to turn on the Taliban and embrace the coalition's arrival.

"(The locals) were very open (to the coalition presence) once the Taliban was pushed out of the area," said Lance Cpl. Tim Davison, a combat engineer with 3rd Platoon. "Once the Taliban left, they felt safer."

When the Marines initially entered Marjah, they expected a large Taliban resistance. For 3rd Platoon, that has not been the case so far. Besides one major firefight with insurgents Feb. 13, 3rd Platoon has not faced much direct Taliban resistance.

The Taliban have attacked troops with occasional small-arms and mortar fire. They have also planted a number of improvised explosive devices around 3rd Platoon's area of operation, tactics that may be attributed to the coalition's imposing presence.

"Our forces are so big," said Seaman Joshua Garman, a corpsman with 3/6. "We bring a lot of guns to the fight."

The ANA has also played a major part in Operation Moshtarak, taking a key role in wiping out Marjah's insurgency.

"(The ANA) talk to the locals and are the ones who go through their houses," said Davison, from Tempe, Ariz. "The locals don't get mad because their own countrymen are coming through (the houses)."

While many neighborhoods in 3rd Platoon's area of operation have been populated with locals, others have been completely abandoned, transforming sections of Marjah into an eerie ghost town.

The residents who decided to stay appeared to be relieved that the coalition forces arrived in town. India Company's Marines and sailors insist that the ANA and Marines are here to serve the Afghan people and improve their lives.

"We've come 8,000 miles to help you," said Garman, from Wesley, Iowa. "We're here to help you clear out the Taliban, to get your lives back (and) to bring peace."

• Date Taken: 03.06.2010
• Date Posted: 03.06.2010 14:16
• Story ID: 46255
• Location: MARJAH, AF