Afghanistan War News Updates -- July 3, 2009

US Marines wait for helicopter transport as part of Operation Khanjar in Afghanistan's Helmand Province. US Marines are in a "hell of a fight" as they storm into Taliban strongholds in a major assault in Afghanistan, according to their commanding officer. (AFP/Manpreet Romana)

US Marines Push Deeper Into Southern Afghan Towns -- Yahoo News/AP

NAWA, Afghanistan – U.S. Marines moved into villages in Taliban strongholds in southern Afghanistan on Friday, meeting little resistance as they tried to win over local chiefs on the second day of the biggest military operation here since the fall of the Taliban government in 2001.

One Marine was killed and several others injured or wounded on Thursday, when some 4,000 Marines launched the operation in Helmand province — a remote area that is at the center of the country's illegal opium cultivation, which helps finance the insurgency.

So far, however, there has been little resistance from the Taliban, according to a military spokesman Capt. Bill Pelletier.

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A U.S. marine guards a road near the Taliban stronghold of Nawa in Afghanistan's Helmand province. (David Guttenfelder/Associated Press)

More News On Afghanistan

US Marines locked in 'hell of a fight' with Taliban -- Yahoo News/AFP
U.S. troops secure key centres in Afghan drive -- CBC
US Faces Resentment in Afghan Region -- New York Times.
US Troops Push Further into Southern Afghanistan -- Voice of America
Marines Push into Southern Afghan Towns -- Time Magazine
Marines Meet Little Resistance in Afghan Push -- Washington Post
Taliban Slip Away From Afghanistan Surge Battle -- Wall Street Journal.
Marines suffer first casualties in Afghan campaign -- Yahoo News/AP
Early Success as US Marines Flood into Helmand in Reversal of British Tactics -- The Times.
Highest British Ranked Officer in Three Decades Killed in Afghanistan -- Daily Telegraph.
British troops expand major Afghan operation -- Yahoo News/Reuters
In Tactical Shift, Troops Will Stay and Hold Ground in Afghanistan -- New York Times
US operation aims to smooth road for Afghan elections -- Christian Science Monitor
US Seeks to Ensure Afghan Elections -- Washington Times.
Afghanistan 'surge' will test Obama's military muscle -- The Telegraph
Obama Turns Focus to War in Afghanistan -- U.S. News And World Report
Reaper hits enemy forces -- U.S. Air Force
On the Offensive -- Washington Post editorial.