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Marines Ordered Into Battle
Wednesday, March 06, 2002
By Robert Burns
AP Military Writer

Air Force Brig. Gen. John Rosa, deputy director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters that the U.S. offensive was making progress. "I would say we are softening up in certain portions, but there's still a lot of work to be done," he said. "We're far from over."

WASHINGTON -- AP
Five Marine Corps attack helicopters entered the fight in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, supplementing an aerial assault force depleted by damage to Army Apache attack helicopters, Pentagon officials said.

A number of AH-64 Apaches took extensive fire from small arms Monday in battles south of the city of Gardez. The Apaches completed their missions and none was shot down, but an undetermined number sustained enough damage from ground fire to require repairs, the officials said.

The Marine AH-1W Cobra attack helicopters were ordered into battle after moving from the USS Bonhomme Richard in the North Arabian Sea to a base inside Afghanistan, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Moving with the Cobras to Afghanistan were two CH-53E Super Stallion transport helicopters.

The Cobra, with a crew of two, is armed with a 20mm cannon and can fire a wide variety of precision guided missiles, including Hellfire and TOW anti-armor missiles and Sidewinder anti-air missiles.

Threats to U.S. interests extend beyond the battle in Gardez. U.S. intelligence has learned of a plot to conduct multiple car bombings in Kabul, against both Western interests and the interim Afghan government headed by Hamid Karzai, a U.S. official said, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

They were to have been carried out by terrorist cells with links to al-Qaida, the official said. It was unclear what became of the plot.
(More: The Anniston Star News Source)
2002 © The Associated Press.

Remember the name. It's Operation Anaconda.

Dan