Tuesday, February 16, 2010
KABUL: The Taliban on Tuesday invited journalists to a region of southern Afghanistan besieged by US-led troops so they "can see with their own eyes" a massive assault aimed at eradicating militants from the area.
US Marines are leading 15,000 US, NATO and Afghan troops in Helmand province in what is said to be the biggest anti-Taliban assault in the war against the militants, now in its ninth year.
NATO and Afghan military commanders say the combined troops are meeting resistance from Taliban fighters in Marjah district and that fleeing militants have littered wide areas with improvised bombs.
In an emailed invitation to a foreign news agency, the "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" -- as the Taliban called itself during its 1996-2001 rule invited "all independent mass media outlets of the world to send their reporters to Marjah".
Reporters who accepted would "see the situation with their own eyes and convey the facts to the public of the world," the email said.
"Such a visit will portray the ground realities and will show who has the upper hand in the area, what are the facts and who controls vast areas of Marjah."
The invitation comes as the Afghan Ministry of Defence is hosting two dozen journalists in the Helmand capital Lashkar Gah, with a promise of taking them by helicopter to Marjah in coming days.
The stated aim of the Marjah offensive is to re-establish Afghan government sovereignty, followed by security and civil services.
The central Helmand River valley is the source of most of the world's opium, which earns up to three billion dollars a year that helps fund and arm the insurgency.
KABUL: The Taliban on Tuesday invited journalists to a region of southern Afghanistan besieged by US-led troops so they "can see with their own eyes" a massive assault aimed at eradicating militants from the area.
US Marines are leading 15,000 US, NATO and Afghan troops in Helmand province in what is said to be the biggest anti-Taliban assault in the war against the militants, now in its ninth year.
NATO and Afghan military commanders say the combined troops are meeting resistance from Taliban fighters in Marjah district and that fleeing militants have littered wide areas with improvised bombs.
In an emailed invitation to a foreign news agency, the "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" -- as the Taliban called itself during its 1996-2001 rule invited "all independent mass media outlets of the world to send their reporters to Marjah".
Reporters who accepted would "see the situation with their own eyes and convey the facts to the public of the world," the email said.
"Such a visit will portray the ground realities and will show who has the upper hand in the area, what are the facts and who controls vast areas of Marjah."
The invitation comes as the Afghan Ministry of Defence is hosting two dozen journalists in the Helmand capital Lashkar Gah, with a promise of taking them by helicopter to Marjah in coming days.
The stated aim of the Marjah offensive is to re-establish Afghan government sovereignty, followed by security and civil services.
The central Helmand River valley is the source of most of the world's opium, which earns up to three billion dollars a year that helps fund and arm the insurgency.
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