US Army soldiers have launched a major operation in support of a planned US-Afghan attack on the largest Taliban-controlled town in southern Afghanistan. About 400 US troops from the 5th Stryker Brigade as well as 250 Afghan soldiers and their 30 Canadian trainers moved into positions northeast of Taliban-controlled Marjah. There are no reports of casualties. Large plumes of smoke could be seen in the area and reporters traveling with the US unit could hear the distant rattle of 50-caliber machine gun fire and detonations from MK-19s, which fire 40 millimeter grenades from Stryker vehicles. US officials have not said when the main attack on Marjah will take place. Thousands of Afghan, US and NATO forces are expected to launch Operation Mushtarak (Together) in a bid to clear the Taliban out of Marjah, home to some 80,000 people, and expand the control of the Afghan government. Families have fled, loading goats, furniture and clothes onto vehicles and heading to safety in Lashkar Gah.
