The Times
Jerome Starkey at Camp Shorabak

Hundreds of Afghan police were preparing to reinforce troops in Marjah last night as fierce fighting and the threat of mines continued to hinder the coalition’s advance.

Brigadier-General Larry Nicholson, the commander of US Marines in Afghanistan, said he needed the police to free up his soldiers to fight the Taleban. “What I can’t afford is for all the forces to be pinned down holding areas we’ve already taken,” he said. (Read more…)