Five U.S. troops were injured in the northern Afghanistan city of Mazar-e Sharif in what’s being described as a “friendly fire incident,” while Marines are actively engaged in the south.
The five injured soldiers, whose names have not been released, were hurt after calling in a close air support mission to suppress rioting prisoners of war. The wounded were evacuated to a military hospital in Uzbekistan. Their injuries are being called “serious,” but “not life threatening,” by the U.S. Central Command.
Officials confirmed yesterday that helicopters from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Units were landing near Kandahar. The Pentagon said that the troops, which currently number less than 1000, would be used to establish a base of operations in southern Afghanistan.
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld had previously told reporters that while the Marines were in the area, it was field commander General Tommy Franks’ decision whether or not to use them. That decision, Rumsfeld said, has been made.
“U.S. Marines are now on the ground in the southern portion of Afghanistan. More are joining them. They are not an occupying force,” Rumsfeld said. “Their purpose is to establish a forward base of operations to help pressure the Taliban forces in Afghanistan, to prevent Taliban and al Qaeda terrorists from moving freely about the country.”
Rumsfeld explained that the base would be used to mount operations in the area, but would not elaborate on what those operations might be.
“The Marines are in to do what I’ve said, and that is to establish a forward operating base. And that is their purpose. It is not their purpose to do the other things that have been suggested,” Rumsfeld said. “The question as to what else might that base be used for, prospectively, is an open question which none of us have discussed, and don’t intend to.”
Marine Corps Headquarters was also quiet on the possible missions, saying only that they would be conducting “a variety of follow-on operations including road interdiction” near the city of Kandahar.
General Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, explained that so far, the mission has been a success.
“The operation over the weekend to position Marines at a forward operating base in southern Afghanistan has gone well so far,” Myers said. “We also remain focused on providing support to opposition groups throughout Afghanistan and on establishing airfield hubs for humanitarian assistance efforts.”
Myers described the actions over the weekend. Air strikes and humanitarian efforts continued in several parts of Afghanistan, all designed to aid the people while pressuring the Taliban faction.
“Our main focus continues to be on putting maximum pressure on al Qaeda and the Taliban, and we are continuing air strikes and have increased our ground forces, as the Secretary mentioned, by putting some Marines in Afghanistan,” Myers said. “We used about 110 strike aircraft [Sunday], including about 85 tactical aircraft launched from platforms at sea, about 10 land-based tactical aircraft and about the same number of long-range bombers. We dropped leaflets in the Mazar-e Sharif, Kabul and Kandahar and Herat areas, and continued our Commando Solo broadcast missions as well.
“Our humanitarian relief support continued with two C-17 air drops near Kunduz and Herat, delivering about 40 containers with over 19,000 rations, and 40 containers of wheat and blankets,” Myers added. “To date we have delivered about 1,900,000 humanitarian daily rations.”
Rumsfeld explained that there was some confusion earlier in the war over the food packages, which were colored similarly to cluster bombs also dropped by U.S. planes. The packages are now clearly marked, Rumsfeld said.
“We’ve seen a lot of photographs of the rations being gathered up by people and guarded with weapons and passed out to people, and that people are in fact eating them and using them,” Rumsfeld said.
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