The ongoing fight in Afghanistan

Taliban claim suicide attack as U.S., Afghan forces prepare for offensive
Article | Five U.S. service members were wounded when a suicide bomber attacked a combat outpost in eastern Afghanistan, the military reported Friday, as U.S. and Afghan forces prepared to assault an insurgent stronghold in the southern part of the country.

U.S. launches Afghan surge
Article | CAMP LEATHERNECK, AFGHANISTAN -- Thousands of U.S. Marines and Afghan soldiers traveling in helicopters and mine-resistant vehicles began punching into a key Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan early Saturday, as the largest military operation since 2001 to assert government control over t...

Troops try to secure vital areas in Marja
Article | MARJA, AFGHANISTAN -- U.S. and Afghan troops moved into two key parts of Marja on Tuesday in an effort to restart government services and confront Taliban holdouts who continue to shoot at coalition forces.

Offensive in Marja entering new phase
Article | MARJA, AFGHANISTAN -- The initial phase of the military offensive in southern Afghanistan to wrest Marja from insurgent control has largely ended, but the more daunting task of building a credible government in the place of Taliban rule has just begun, according to senior U.S. and Afghan officials.

4 NATO troops die in Marja offensive
Article | KABUL -- The sixth day of the military offensive in southern Afghanistan proved the deadliest so far as four NATO troops were killed in bombings and gun battles during the painstaking push to take back a Taliban stronghold.

Taliban resistance slows coalition's push
Article | MARJA, AFGHANISTAN -- Lt. Col. Cal Worth, who commands one of two Marine battalions leading the offensive against Taliban fighters here, set off at 7 a.m. Wednesday for the return journey to his battalion headquarters from a combat outpost less than four miles away.

War, the old-fashioned way
Article | MARJA, AFGHANISTAN -- They had slogged through knee-deep mud carrying 100 pounds of gear, fingers glued to the triggers of their M-4 carbines, all the while on the lookout for insurgents. Now, after five near-sleepless nights, trying to avoid hypothermia in freezing temperatures, the grunts of the...

New mayor delivers a plea to Marja
Article | MARJA, AFGHANISTAN -- The Afghan official responsible for governing Marja paid his first visit to this strife-torn community Monday, imploring residents to forsake the Taliban and promising employment programs as an inducement for local men to put down their weapons.

The ongoing fight in Afghanistan
Photos | A look inside the partnership between U.S. Marines and Afghan soldiers in an area in southern Afghanistan called Marja

Offensive is crucial test of Obama strategy
Article | The largest military offensive of the eight-year war in Afghanistan, launched this weekend in southwestern Helmand province, is a crucial test for President Obama's strategy of more troops, more civilians and more money.