Operation Ghartse Gar continues

The British and Coalition forces continue the hard work of pushing the Taliban out of the Sangin valley in Helmand province (map) as part of Operation Ghartse Gar. From the British MoD:

Soldiers from 1st Battalion the Royal Anglian Regiment have been taking part in a difficult and dangerous operation aimed at clearing Taliban elements from Jusyalay, the area between Sangin and Putay in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan.
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The objective of the operation is to track down Taliban positions, taking the fight to the Taliban and clearing them out of Sangin.
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Despite a sustained firefight, A and B Companies continued their advance up and down the Sangin Valley clearing the Juysalay area. The remaining hardcore Taliban were removed, although some are believed to have escaped.

This operation follows up on last month's Operation Lastay Kulang which took place over this same terrain. That operation saw heavy fighting. (See here and here, for instance. Also, see this well written account.)

This area is important for several reasons. One, it is part of Helmand's opium producing region, and as noted here, Helmand province is producing much of the world's opium right now.

Second, the Kajaki dam is at the northern end of this valley. This dam is needed to produce electricity in the region, and the Taliban want to put it out of operation. From an RFE/RL article earlier in the year:

The Taliban say their spring offensive started in southern Afghanistan when they seized the town of Musa Qala in early February. Since then, there has been a series of battles around the nearby Kajaki Dam -- the main focus of international reconstruction efforts for Afghanistan's volatile south.
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That's the location of the Kajaki Dam -- the key reconstruction project in southern Afghanistan. If engineers can rebuild the hydroelectric generators -- and restore 110 kilometers of power lines to Kandahar -- some 1.8 million Afghans will have access to a reliable source of energy for the first time in decades. Thousands of jobs could be created.

Taliban fighters have held the town of Musa Qala -- about 25 kilometers from the dam -- since seizing it on February 2. The governor of Helmand Province says hundreds of Taliban fighters -- bolstered by Pakistani, Chechen, and Uzbek militants -- crossed the border from Pakistan this week in an attempt to derail the dam's reconstruction. NATO confirms that Taliban fighters have been firing rockets from a distance but causing no serious damage.
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With funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Chinese engineers plan to restart work on the Kajaki Dam's power station soon. Work was halted in 2006 because of almost daily mortar attacks on the project's base camp. But the Chinese subcontractors will not restart their work until a 6-kilometer security zone is created around the dam.

Third, the Taliban are strong in Musa Qala District, which is just to the NW of this area. As noted above, the Taliban have made a base for themselves here. This was made possible in part by a deal the British made that didn't go as planned, to say the least.

If you've noted the airpower summaries I've had here the past few days, you'll note the action going around the Kajaki dam.

* F-15Es hit an enemy mortar position with Guided Bomb Unit-38s near Kajaki Dam. The JTAC reported the weapons hit their intended target. The pilots also conducted a show of force to try and flush out any insurgents still in the area.

* F-15Es provided a show of force to get insurgents to give up their position near Kajaki Dam. The show of force was reported as successful.

* A French Air Force Mirage 2000 conducted a show of force expelling flares over enemies in a trench in Kajaki Dam. The show of force was reported as successful by the Joint Terminal Attack Controller.

* Also in Kajaki Dam, U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles watched over a convoy with a disabled vehicle.

* A Royal Air Force GR-7 Harrier bombed a tree line in Kajaki Dam with a general-purpose 540 pound bomb and multiple rockets. Enemy forces were reported to be hiding in the tree line.

The enemy is determined to impose their medieval rule on the people of Afghanistan. It takes hard, dangerous work to stamp them out.

Update (7/7): There was an explosion in Sangin today:

An explosion at an Afghan National Police (ANP) Patrol Base in Sangin, thought to be an improvised explosive device, killed two children and two members of the ANP. The explosive device was hidden in a wooden cart and exploded without warning.
The explosion also seriously injured another child and a further member of the ANP. Despite both receiving the best possible medical care in an ISAF hospital, the ANP officer has since died of his wounds.

(linked at Mudville Gazette's Dawn Patrol)

Previous posts

* Operation Ghartse Ghar (7/2)