US Marines push deeper into southern Afghan towns

Jul 3, 2009 832 related

By JASON STRAZIUSO and CHRIS BRUMMITT - Associated Press Writers NAWA, Afghanistan - U.S. Marines pushed deeper into Taliban areas of southern Afghanistan on Friday, seeking to cut insurgent supply lines and win over local elders on the second day of the biggest U.S. military operation here since the American-led invasion of 2001. On the other side of the border, U.S. missiles struck a Pakistani Taliban militant training center and communications center, killing 17 people and wounding nearly 30, Pakistani intelligence officials said. Both U.S. operations were aimed at what President Barack Obama considers as the biggest dangers in the region: a resurgent Taliban-led insurgency allied with al-Qaida that threatens both nuclear-armed Pakistan and the U.S.-backed government in Afghanistan. The 4,000-strong U.S. force met little... [read full story]