U.S. Marines are crossing the sands of southern Afghanistan for the first time in years, providing a boost to a NATO coalition force that is growing but still short on manpower. The troops are working alongside British forces in Helmand province – the world's largest opium-poppy region and site of some of the fiercest Taliban resistance over the last two years. The director of U.S. intelligence has said the Taliban controls 10 per cent of Afghanistan – much of that in Helmand.
"Our mission is to come here and essentially set the conditions, make Afghanistan a better place, provide some security, allow for the expansion of governance in those same areas," said Col. Peter Petronzio, the unit's commander.
Taliban fighters have largely shunned head-on battles since losing hundreds of fighters in the Panjwayi region of Kandahar province in fall 2006. More than 8,000 people, mainly militants, were killed in insurgency-related violence last year, the United Nations says. The number of suicide attacks spiked last year at 140 bombings.
The U.S. now has 32,500 troops in the country – the most since the 2001 invasion to oust the Taliban for hosting Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Altogether, there are nearly 70,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, including about 2,300 Canadians mainly in Kandahar.