Task Force Southwest, the 300-Marine element that deployed to Helmand province as an advisory force for the Afghan National Defense Forces in April, does most of its work from inside the wire, supporting the local troops who patrol and launch ground attacks. But this recent strike on local Taliban mastermind Qari Fida Mohammad illustrates the impact Marines continue to have on the active fight. Mohammad, longtime shadow governor of the restive Helmand district of Marjah, was killed Dec. 20, task force spokeswoman Maj. Kendra Motz said. Standing inside the unit's operations center, where 11 large flat screens featured detailed live drone footage from around Helmand province, Capt. Brian Hubert explained how the strike happened. "Through the work of the intelligence sections as well as the operations in here, and coordination with the Afghans as well, we were able to conduct a strike on him a few days ago," said Hubert, battle captain for Task Force Southwest. "Basically, we're very familiar with the battlespace now. So when we see the leaders we know are important there, we can kind of do a bead on them."
The unit started tracking Mohammad with its eyes in the sky. When he was well positioned as a target, the Marines called in two Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons to execute the strike. "He was in a vehicle traveling with deputies, bodyguards, and a cousin of his, who was also a sub-commander," Hubert said. "We took the shot successfully, and [he was] dead on the spot, which was huge." Mohammad, who was based in the Taliban hotbed of Marjah, but operated throughout Helmand province, had been well-known to the Marines for years. Col. Matthew Reid, deputy commander of the task force, told Military.com he had known about Mohammad in 2010, when he deployed to Helmand for active combat operations. "We're still not really fully aware of the exact ramifications of taking him out," Reid said. "It was a pretty big takedown, so we're pretty happy about it. He was behind a lot of attacks against Marines back in the day--really high profile attacks."
U.S. Marines with Task Force Southwest depart a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter prior to an advisory meeting with Afghan National Army soldiers at Camp Hanson, Afghanistan, June 13, 2017. (U.S. Marine Corps photo)
Hubert said the task force was now tracking the impact of Mohammad's elimination. Ahead of the strike, he said, Marines had watched via drone footage as local civilians took to their homes, fearful of being blamed and facing violent reprisal if any attack were launched on the shadow governor. Now, he said, newly leaderless Taliban fighters in southern Marjah are acting disorganized and confused, without orders to carry out. "Supposedly, [Mohammad] also had a lot of intimidation where he killed full families; he was absolutely just a Mafia-style Taliban leader in that area," Hubert said, adding that he regularly demanded 'taxes' from local civilians by force. "Taking him out ... hopefully provides the residents of Marjah and the southern end a little bit of a 'hey, maybe it's a turn.'" For the Marines, Marjah is a region full of history. It's the site of some of the service's most hard-fought battles in Helmand. Some 50 American troops died in the 2010 joint siege on Marjah, known as Operation Moshtarak. When Marines departed Afghanistan in 2014, Marjah was considered relatively stable; but by 2016 it had fallen back under Taliban control.
Marines are now working to empower Afghan troops from the local 215th Corps of the Afghan National Army to hold the line. When the small task force arrived, the provincial capital city of Lashkar Gah was on the verge of being overtaken by the Taliban, Marines said. Now, with support from the Task Force, the soldiers have restored stability to the town and are beginning to move offensively against the Taliban. In a shura with Navy Secretary Richard Spencer and Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller on Dec. 23, Helmand provincial governor Hayatullah Hayat said Afghan troops continue to take daily casualties in the fight. But task force personnel continue to exact a daily toll against the Taliban as well. On a December visit to the operations center, a dark plume of smoke rose from a road on one of the screens -- evidence of a precision strike carried out only minutes before. From the screens, Hubert said, Marines had watched a pair of Taliban fighters carrying weapons dig a hole in a road south of the Marjah district center, intending to emplace IEDs ahead of a trip Afghan National Security Forces intended to make to the center.
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