A Battlefield Tourist

Italians Moving 500 Troops to Farah

Jul 1 at 9:09pm by David Tate

Italian Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa says 500 Italian troops, presently stationed in Herat, will move to the turbulent southwestern Afghan Province of Farah.  The move will coincide with the French take over of command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Command Capital from Italy in July.

The Italians currently have 160 troops already in Farah supporting the Farah Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) and allied forces at FOB Delaram, which sits on the vital “Ring Road” near the border with Helmand Province.

Altogether, approximately 2,700 Italian troops are in Afghanistan, about 2,500 of which are in Herat, where the Italians currently hold command of ISAF Command West.

The announcement comes just two weeks after the Italians made a pledge to make their troops more “flexible ” in a region of Afghanistan the Italians have been in force since 2005; an area that has seen only sporadic security issues until recently.

US Marines, who have been operating in Farah since April, have suffered seven killed with several others wounded in just the past few weeks. 

One Marine, from the Marine Special Operations Battalion, was killed in Gulistan district.  Five others, plus two Afghan National Army soldiers, were wounded.  

Six other Marines and a sailor, from 2nd Battalion, Seventh Marine Regiment, have also been killed in Farah, including four in one IED attack.  2/7 Marines are in Farah and Helmand Provinces to provide security and mentoring to local Afghan Security Forces as part of the Focused District Development (FDD) program.   FDD is the Americans’ newest effort to establish a credible, trustworthy police force in the southern part of the country.  The program is expected to be nationwide and by 2012.

This spate of violence follows a very successful batch of military operations launched by the coalition during the last week of May:

May 24th - 12 Taliban are killed in Bala Buluk when a US/Afghan patrol came under fire. The two-hour fight also left two Afghan police dead.

May 28th - NATO air strikes kill as many as 30 Taliban in Bala Buluk. Two Afghan policeman and one Afghan soldier are also killed.

May 29th - The coalition pressure continues to the south of Bala Buluk as they take Bakwa District back from the Taliban who have been in control almost a year. The fighting leaves more than 100 Taliban and one American Special Forces soldier dead.

Clarification edit: 7/4/08 0823