Operation Ghartse Ghar

Operation Ghartse Ghar began June 29th and is aimed at clearing the Taliban away from the west bank of the Helmand river in Helmand Province.

(See this map of Helmand province. Grishk district is also known as Nahri Saraj, and is just north of Lashkar Gah.)

ANA and Coalition Forces were in the process of clearing the river area when an enemy mortar crew started firing at their position. After determining where the enemy was firing from, Coalition close air support was called in and destroyed the mortar firing position, killing several enemy combatants.

In a separate engagement during this operation, enemy forces attempted to ambush the ANA and Coalition Forces with small arms and RPG fire. ANA and Coalition Forces returned fire killing numerous enemy fighters.

Several compounds were cleared of enemy fighters in the first 12 hours of the operation. More than a dozen Taliban were killed. No civilians have been reported killed during the operation.

CentCom added:

After battling enemy forces most of the day, ANA and Coalition forces clearing the river area came under heavy fire from enemy small arms, medium machine gun, 82mm mortars and rocket-propelled grenades.

The ANA and Coalition forces identified several enemy positions during this exchange, to include mortar positions, observation posts, compounds and a trench system. They returned fire and called in Coalition and ISAF close air support. All enemy positions were destroyed in the engagement.

"It appears that ANA and Coalition forces fired at clearly identified firing positions," said Maj Chris Belcher, spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force 82.

"After our forces surveyed the area, there are reports of some possible civilian deaths," said Belcher. "Remains of some people who apparently were civilians were found among insurgent fighters who were killed in firing positions in a trench line," he said.

Indeed, the AP reports that as a result of Coalition airstrikes in this region,

After the airstrikes, a local investigating team was sent to the Grishk district of Helmand Province, said Dor Ali Shah, the mayor of Grishk, and Muhammad Hussein Andewal, the provincial police chief. Both said the investigation found that 62 insurgents and 45 civilians had been killed.
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NATO has admitted that some civilians were killed Friday but says the number is far fewer than 45. “We will cooperate in any way that we can,” said Maj. John Thomas, a spokesman for NATO’s International Security Assistance Force. "We don’t mean to trivialize any of those who died, but we want to make it clear that we at this point believe the numbers are a dozen or less."

On Sunday, NATO officials said the "Taliban terrorists continue to use innocent civilians as shields."

CentCom's Airpower Summary for June 30 hints at the action taking place here.

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.

JTACs are highly trained U.S. Air Force and Coalition personnel who advise ground commanders on appropriate air power support, relay the ground commander’s intent to air power assets overhead and communicate with aircrews for precision engagement.

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.

In Sangin, an F-15E dropped multiple Guided Bomb Unit-38s on an insurgent compound and vehicle. There was a secondary explosion near the car indicating possible enemy weapons destruction.

An A-10 dropped a GBU-12 on an enemy compound also in Sangin. The weapon impacted its target. The compound was targeted after friendly force took fire from the position.

A U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer conducted a show of presence along a Coalition route in Sangin.

A-10s also dropped a GBU-12 and a general-purpose 500 pound bomb on an enemy compound in Garmsir. Both bombs were reported to have good effects.

Also in Garmsir, other A-10s successfully conducted a show of force with multiple flares to disrupt any enemy activity in the area.

All of these places named here are in Helmand Province.

A story from dvids today talks about the ongoing action. (There are some accompanying photos here as well.)

Elements of the Afghan national police, advised by coalition forces, conducted a combat patrol June 29 to 30, as part of International security assistance force’s Operation Ghartse Ghar, to clear the Taliban from both sides of the Helmand River, near the village of Shurakian, Nahr-e Saraj District, Helmand province.

The city, historically an insurgent stronghold, is cut in half by the Helmand River. Coalition teams moved up both sides forming a two-pronged attack to give the enemy less chance of escape.

As the joint ANP and coalition force made its approach to the city, hundreds of civilians were seen moving out of the city.

“I watched hundreds of civilians walk out of the city unopposed,” said a coalition forces soldier. “I counted 150 and just quit because the stream wouldn’t stop. The civilians know the insurgents commonly use human shields when fighting with coalition forces so it was a wise choice to go.”

Coalition forces took up positions overlooking the city and used precision weapons combined with advanced optics to eliminate confirmed targets. The coalition forces concentrated on eliminating confirmed enemies.

“We held back two air strikes because positive identification could not be confirmed,” said a coalition forces officer. “Our forces are very proficient at spotting signs of the enemy and ensuring positive identification before eliminating them.”

Since Operation Ghartse Ghar started June 28, more than four dozen Taliban have been killed in the clashes.

Finally, the British lost two soldiers in Helmand Province over the weekend, Sergeant Dave Wilkinson and Captain Sean Dolan. This report says Sgt. Wilkinson was killed in a suicide bomb attack, while the British MoD report linked to above only refers to his patrol being struck by an "improvised explosive device."

The Helmand River is an important source of water in this province that isn't exactly a lush tropical paradise. I do wonder if part of this operation is aimed at eradicating poppy fields as well. StrategyPage said today:

The reason you hear so many reports of battles with the Taliban in Afghanistans Helmand province, is because that one area (south of Kandahar and on the Pakistani border), currently produces over 40 percent of the worlds heroin.
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Most of the poppy growing takes place along the Helmand river, which runs through the desert-like province. The farmers don't want to lose their highly profitable poppy crops, and the drug gangs don't want to see their labs (which convert the poppies into opium and heroin) destroyed.