Thousands of American and Afghan soldiers launched an offensive against resurgent Taliban militants in five eastern provinces Saturday, seeking to expand the Afghan government's reach into the volatile frontier region, the U.S.-led coalition said.The operation comes as a NATO-led force, including 2,500 U.S. soldiers, is pressing heavy attacks on militants in Afghanistan's south, claiming to have killed hundreds of guerrillas over the past two weeks.
The new push in the east is "part of a series of coordinated operations placing continuous pressure on Taliban extremists ... in order to provide security to the population, extend the government to the people and to increase reconstruction," the U.S.-led coalition said.
Dubbed Operation Mountain Fury, the offensive involves 7,000 U.S. and Afghan soldiers in the central and eastern provinces of Paktika, Khost, Ghazni, Paktya and Logar, the military said. Insurgents and other Islamic extremist groups, including al-Qaida, are known to operate in the region, especially in areas bordering Pakistan where the reach of the Afghan government is weak.
A separate U.S.-led operation called Big Northern Wind has been going on in neighboring Kunar province's Korangal Valley since late August.
The U.S. military said troops had been preparing the ground for Operation Mountain Fury for weeks and began the "maneuver phase" early Saturday. "Mountain Fury will continue until the conditions of bringing security, construction and growth are met," Maj. Gen. Benjamin Freakley, the top U.S. operational commander, said in the statement. "The Afghan people are tired of war. They want what their government is capable of providing: security, employment, education and a better way of life," Freakley said.