Taliban disburse attacks to relieve pressure on Musa Qala

Telegraph:

The battle for Musa Qala has intensified with British and Afghan troops probing the edges of the town but holding back from a final assault as thousands of civilians remain inside.

With fighting also spreading to many parts of Helmand, Afghan officials claimed that two of the most important Taliban commanders in the province were captured trying to escape Musa Qala.

British military sources said that a number of insurgents had been captured but had not yet been identified.

Colonel Richard Eaton confirmed that there had been casualties in "fierce fighting" over the weekend but that British forces had advanced to the edge of the town.

He said that Taliban fighters had attacked other areas of the province to relieve pressure on Musa Qala.

"There have certainly been skirmishes throughout the area of Sangin [to the south of Musa Qala]," he said.

"The Taliban are trying to create pressure in other areas to relieve the pressure we are exerting on Musa Qala. There were a couple of our bases in the area of Sangin attacked this afternoon. They were repulsed."

Speaking from inside the town, Taliban commander Mullah Ahmad Muslim claimed: "We have launched attacks in Sangin and in Sarwan Kala. In Musa Qala we have taken 15 prisoners from the Afghan National Army. We have orders to attack the British everywhere."

With a population of around 20,000 and one of the biggest bazaars in Helmand, the operation to take Musa Qala is the largest military assault that British forces have launched in Afghanistan.

At least 300 people fled the town over the weekend but many remain.

The Afghan government claimed to have captured Mullah Rahim Akhund, the Taliban governor for Helmand and Mullah Mateen Akhund, the district governor for Musa Qala, as they fled the town.

Taliban sources however fiercely denied the claims that their commanders had been taken. "I am almost crying, I am laughing so much," the Taliban’s chief spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi told The Daily Telegraph by telephone.

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"Right now it is going according to plan," said Nato commander General Dan McNeill. "As to how tough the fighting will or will not be, that is up to the insurgents. If the insurgent wants to fight then the Afghan forces going into Musa Qala will be up to the task."

British and American forces are to perform the "break in" operation to Musa Qala, but the final assault will be left to the Afghan Army.

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The battle for Musa Qala, which involves some 3,000 British troops, began at 4pm on Friday afternoon as British and Afghan forces advanced in three separate columns from the south, west and east of the town supported by several hundred vehicles and dozens of attack helicopters and ground attack aircraft.

But it was a feint, to distract attention from a helicopter borne landing by a battalion of the US 82nd Airborne Division from Task Force Fury to the north of the town.

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This appears to be something of a complex swarm operation by allied forces against the Taliban who are responding with dispersal attacks in hopes of drawing off attackers. The Taliban plan at this point appears to be the failure that most of their plans have been recently. There is little doubt that the Taliban will lose this battle. What is only in doubt is whether the allied forces will commit enough troops to the area to keep the Taliban from coming back. Will it be a whack a mole operation or a counterinsurgency operation? The answer to that question will tell whether this piece of real estate will have to be purchased again with more blood.

The Independent says allied forces will be switching to a "hearts and minds" campaign . but the question is can the commit the amount of force needed for such a campaign.

This Telegraph story discusses the lead up to the battle. It apparently started with Operation Snakebite on November 2.

The Guardian gives this summary of our strategy:

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He said the strategy was for the British troops to seal off the town, while the American troops "kicked down the door" to allow Afghan troops to "rush through". The battle is the first major test of the new Nato-trained Afghan army.

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The swarm also has characteristics of a hammer and anvil strategy. The Times reports that there is also an effort to persuade some of the Taliban commanders to switch sides. It was a switch that originally triggered the operations.

There is much more in all these stories. The Brit media is going full bore on this battle. They have put some good writers on the story.

Update: Bill Roggio reports that the Taliban has retreated from Musa Qala.