Taliban targeted in major U.S. operation

KABUL, Afghanistan, July 1 (UPI) -- About 4,000 U.S. troops and 650 Afghan soldiers are going after the Taliban in Afghanistan's Helmand province in a "major operation," the U.S. military said.

The campaign, called "Operation Khanjar" or "Strike of the sword," is led mostly by U.S. Marines in the largest offensive since additional U.S. troops were brought in. The Wednesday operation follows a British-led campaign launched last week in the same region, where Taliban violence has claimed the lives of at least 25 U.S. and British troops this year, CNN reported quoting the Marines.

A senior U.S. defense official in Washington described the new operation as "very significant" as it was not common for forces to operate at the brigade level," CNN said.

"In fact, they often only conduct missions at the platoon level. And they're going into the most troubled area of Afghanistan," he was quoted as saying.

The operation was seen as an indication of the approach U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the new allied commander in Afghanistan, wants to take in the war, the U.S. network said.

"They're not just doing an offensive push to get bad guys; they're going in to hold the area and stay there," the defense official was quoted as saying, noting McChrystal's philosophy is success is to be measured by the number of Afghans protected, not bad guys killed.

U.S. military spokesman Capt. William Pelletier told the BBC one Marine was slightly injured in an IED explosion but that the U.S. troops had not encountered any militants in the first hours of the operation. He was quoted as saying the military was ready for any casualties but would strive to ensure no civilians are harmed.

U.S. President Barack Obama plans to send an additional 21,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan as the Iraq operations wind down.