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In January 2006, NATO's focus in southern Afghanistan was to form Provincial Reconstruction Teams with the British leading in Helmand Province and the Netherlands and Canada leading similar deployments in Orūzgān Province and Kandahar Province respectively. The United States, with 2,200 troops, stayed in control of Zabul Province. Local Taliban figures voiced opposition to the incoming force and pledged to resist it.〔http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5057154.stm〕 ==NATO expands in southern Afghanistan== From January 2006, a NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) force started to replace U.S troops in southern Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.〔For deployments see *(Details of ISAF and PRT deployments in Afghanistan – 2006 )〕 The British 16th Air Assault Brigade (later reinforced by Royal Marines) formed the core of the force in Southern Afghanistan, along with troops and helicopters from Australia, Canada and the Netherlands. The initial force consisted of roughly 3,300 British,〔http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4961368.stm〕 2,500 Canadians,〔http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4984880.stm〕 1,963 from the Netherlands,〔http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4673026.stm〕 280 from Denmark,〔http://www.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom1/CoalitionPages/Denmark.htm〕 240 from Australia,〔http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4983540.stm〕 and 150 from Estonia.〔http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=1221120&C=landwar〕 Air support was provided by US, British, Dutch, Norwegian and French combat aircraft and helicopters. In 2006, southern Afghanistan has faced the deadliest spate in violence in the country since the ousting of the Taliban regime by U.S.-led forces in 2001, as the newly deployed NATO troops battled resurgent militants. Operation Mountain Thrust was launched on May 17, 2006 with the purpose of rooting out Taliban forces.〔http://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/060614/w061454.html〕 Canadians were one of the leading combatants and the first fighting took place during the Battle of Panjwaii. Complex mud-walled compounds meant that the fighting in the rural Panjwaii district was similar to urban fighting in some places. Daily firefights, artillery bombardments, and coalition airstrikes turned the tide of the battle in favour of the Canadians. On July 3, 2006, it was reported that British Army leaders had warned Prime Minister Tony Blair that victory was not certain in Afghanistan, and were calling for more reinforcements.〔http://paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=148742〕 More than 1,100 Taliban fighters were killed and almost 400 captured in the month-and-a-half long operation. In July 2006, command of the international forces in southern Afghanistan was passed to NATO forces under British General David J. Richards. Regional command in the south was led by Canadian General David Fraser. In November 2006, Dutch Major-General Ton van Loon took over NATO Regional Command South in Afghanistan for a six-month period from the Canadians.〔http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/lf/English/6_1_1.asp?id=1275〕 Canadian Forces, which came under NATO command at the end of July, launched Operation Medusa in an attempt to clear the areas of Taliban fighters once and for all. The fighting during Operation Medusa led the way to the second, and most fierce, Battle of Panjwaii during which the Canadians experienced daily gun-battles, ambushes, and mortar/rocket attacks. The Taliban had massed with an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 fighters and they were reluctant to give up the area. After being surrounded by the Canadian Forces, they dug in and fought a more conventional style battle. After weeks of fighting, the Taliban had been cleared from the Panjwaii area and Canadian reconstruction efforts in the area began. NATO reported it had killed more than 500 suspected Taliban fighters.〔http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/10-06/10-19-06/16world-nation.htm〕 During Operation Medusa, the Canadians were supported by US, British, Dutch and Danish forces. The PzH 2000 howitzer made its combat debut with the Dutch Army as artillery fire support.〔http://www.kmweg.com/gb/index.php〕 A major NATO offensive called Operation Mountain Fury was launched in September 2006 to clear Taliban rebels from the eastern provinces of Afghanistan. The fighting was intense with a number of coalition casualties and heavy Taliban loses. Along with the Canadians and Dutch, the British were a major contributor to the expanded NATO mission in southern Afghanistan in 2006. Having initially been deployed as part of Operation Veritas in 2001, British forces had played a supporting role to the Americans, but in 2006 the size of Britain's deployed forces was expanded as part of Operation Herrick. Throughout the year, around 5,000 British Armed Forces personnel deployed to Afghanistan, mainly in Helmand Province. They subsequently saw heavy fighting, particularly in the Sangin District. NATO forces began reconstruction efforts after the major combat operations of Operation Medusa had ceased. But the British and Canadians still encountered fierce fighting. The Canadian involvement in Operation Mountain Fury was stepped up when they mounted an operation of their own called Operation Falcon's Summit on December 15, 2006. During Falcon Summit, the Canadians gained control of several key villages and towns that were former Taliban havens, such as Howz-E Madad. During the first week of the operation, massive Canadian artillery and tank barrages were carried out in a successful attempt to clear pockets of Taliban resistance. An analysis of the coalition casualty figures from May 1 to August 12, 2006 by Sheila Bird, vice-president of the UK's Royal Statistical Society, revealed that during the period, an average of five coalition soldiers were killed every week by the Taliban, twice the death rate suffered during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.〔http://www.newscientist.com/channel/opinion/mg19125683.100-risk-to-troops-in-afghanistan-exposed.html〕 The fighting for NATO forces was intense throughout the second half of 2006. NATO achieved several tactical victories over the Taliban and denied a number of areas to them, but the Taliban were not completely defeated and NATO operations continued into 2007. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Coalition combat operations in Afghanistan in 2006」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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