BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- The United States Marines, along with other coalition forces here, have changed operations in the coalition’s continuing efforts to destroy terrorist cells, provide humanitarian assistance, and bring stability to the country plagued by decades of war.
According to a press release from the Combined Forces Command – Afghanistan, Operation Mountain Blizzard has successfully completed, and Operation Mountain Storm began March 7.
Second Battalion, 8th Marines, has been in Afghanistan since late last year, and has conducted various missions as part of Operation Mountain Blizzard. In late February, early March, about 250 Marines from 6th Marines arrived at Bagram Airfield to support missions in the area and to continue coalition efforts.
Mountain Blizzard was approximately two months long and included 1,731 patrols, 143 raids and cordons and searches, and the termination of 22 enemy combatants, according to the release. Weapons caches discovered during Mountain Blizzard included 3,648 rockets, 3,202 mortar rounds, 2,944 rocket-propelled grenades, 2,232 mines and tens of thousands of rounds of small arms munitions.
With Mountain Blizzard completed, Coalition forces have begun Operation Mountain Storm, which is the next in a continuing series of operations in Afghanistan intended to destroy terrorist organizations and their infrastructure while brining national stability and support to the Afghan people.
“The fight for freedom from terror, the fight against enemies of Afghanistan, the fight for peace continues,” the release stated.