U.S UNLEASHES 'COBRA ANGER' ON SOUTHERN AFGHANISTAN

US, codenamed 'Cobra's Anger,' began in Hemland Province on Friday, the Associated Press reported. British troopers as well as Afghan police and military are also enlisted in the mission.

• Less than 1,000 US soldiers have reportedly launched fierce land and air assaults on alleged militant communication routs and supply lines in southern Afghanistan. The attacks are allegedly aimed at cutting a swathe through Taliban minefields.
• The crackdown marks the first one of such scales since the Tuesday promise by US President Barack Obama to commit 30,000 soldiers to the Afghanistan-based contingents. Devising the mission plan for the Cobra's Anger began long before the presidential announcement.
• Reporting on the mission, NATO's International Security Assistant Force (ISAF) said, "More than 1,000 ISAF personnel partnered with Afghan national security forces began a long-planned operation in northern Helmand province to clear insurgent forces from a key area."
• The war-ravaged country is grappling with unprecedented violence, despite the presence of around 110,000 American and other foreign soldiers.
• Since the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan, the so-called counterinsurgency operations have left many thousands of Afghan civilians as well as nearly 800 American troops dead.
• The additional troops are expected to be deployed mostly in the southern regions, amid reports that the militants are gaining ground in the north.

Source: AP,AFP