Insurgents vanish after battles
Associated Press
MARJAH, Afghanistan
The Marines have found bloody clothes and spent bullet casings and bombs meant to kill them. They’ve heard bullets flying overhead and seen muzzle flashes in tree lines.
In this southern Afghan town that coalition forces seized from Taliban fighters eight months ago — and are still clearing — you don’t have to go far to find the insurgency. But finding insurgents is another story altogether.
“The only time we see them is when we’re in contact” in a gunfight, said Cpl. Chuck Martin, 24, of Middletown, R.I.
And even catching a glimpse of them during gunbattles can be rare.
When U.S.-led coalition forces poured into Marjah in February, they ended years of Taliban control here. But the Taliban never left — they simply went underground, blending in among civilians, taking advantage of the region’s terrain of agricultural fields and irrigation trenches to stage daily ambushes of American patrols.
Today, U.S. troops are knee-deep in a classic guerrilla war, in what sometimes seems to be an endless turf battle against an often-invisible enemy that fights one minute, pretends to farm the next.
“I’ve seen the Taliban a couple of times, but it’s only for brief seconds,” said Lance Cpl. Benjamin Long, 21, of Trussville, Ala., who knew they were close on one recent patrol when machine-gun rounds suddenly began kicking up dust near his feet. “It’s like fighting ghosts. They’re in and they’re out. They’re quick. They’ve been doing this a long time ... [and] they’re good at it.”
When U.S. forces go out on patrol, children and farmers come out of their homes and watch them closely. Some are just curious. Others use cell phones to tell insurgents what the Americans are doing.
When gunbattles erupt, Marines must simultaneously take cover and figure out where the Taliban are so they can return fire. They first listen to the crack and pop of gunshots, then look for muzzle flashes — although sometimes gunmen are hiding in foliage so thick they can’t even see those.
Firefights often last around 15 or 20 minutes because the Taliban know how long it takes for troops to call in helicopter gunships or mortar barrages, Marines say. If air support doesn’t arrive, the gunmen often start shooting again.
After one recent firefight, one Marine squad scooped up spent bullet cartridges from a compound insurgents had just fired from. It was the first time they’d found such a trace since arriving in July, said Sgt. Jeffrey Benson, 34, of Medina, Ohio.
“Usually they take everything after a firefight,” Benson said. “They’re real good at getting their dead and injured out.”