Operation ‘Khanjar’ launched in Helmand province; Russia allows for US troops and equipment to fly over its territory; UN Security Council extends mandate of UNAMA for another year
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    • A major offensive codenamed Operation ‘Khanjar’ (Strike of the Sword) was launched on July 2 in Helmand province of Southern Afghanistan involving about 4,000 US troops and 650 Afghan soldiers, with support from NATO planes1. The operation in a stronghold of the Taliban is being seen as the first major military operation (and the biggest American military action since the Fallujah operation in Iraq in 2004) under President Obama's revamped strategy to stabilize the country. Reports suggested that the goal of the operation was to clear insurgents from the violence-prone and opium-infested Helmand River Valley before the Afghan Presidential elections on August 20. US Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson stressed that coalition forces “will stay, and … will hold, build and work toward transition of all security responsibilities to Afghan forces2.”

    Meanwhile, reports noted that the Russian government had agreed to allow American troops and weapons bound for Afghanistan fly over its territory. Given the problems being encountered in supplying US forces through Pakistan, the decision is expected to provide an important new corridor for US forces3.

    In other developments, the UN Security Council has extended the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA ) for another year4.

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