(2 Jul 2010) SHOTLIST
1. Wide of police checkpoint
2. Police searching a local man next to his car
3. Various of police searching vehicle
4. Mid of Afghan National Army soldier standing on guard
5. SOUNDBITE: (Pashto) Mohammad Toryalai, police check post commander:
++AUDIO QUALITY AS INCOMING++
"We are at this checkpoint keeping our guards searching every vehicle and individuals, so we can ensure there is security and our people can live in full security and (that we are able) to save their lives."
6. Mid of locals passing, gun in foreground
7. Wide of police checkpoint
8. Various of police searching vehicles and local people
9. SOUNDBITE: (Pashto) Mohammad Jawaid, Policeman:
"We are trying to do our part, and I hope more policemen like us come out to help us to bring peace in our country."
10. Mid of police searching a local man
STORYLINE
NATO and Afghan forces have taken the first major, visible step towards a promised surge in security around southern Afghanistan's largest city, with the opening of eleven checkpoints ringing Kandahar city, NATO officials have said.
Eleven checkpoints started up with 24-hour staffing on Thursday, and a total of 16 checkpoints should be operating by late July, according to the head operations for NATO troops in the south.
They are aimed at preventing Taliban insurgents from travelling into the city where they have assassinated and attacked Afghan officials and government supporters.
On Friday, Afghan police were seen at the checkpoints searching vehicles and individuals.
All checkpoints are manned by a combination of NATO forces, Kandahar city police and a more elite cadre of national Afghan police.
According to the director of future operations for NATO troops in the south, about 600 of the elite Afghan National Civil Order Police, or ANCOP, are being placed at the checkpoints for the next few months, with the aim of eventually replacing them with well-trained local police.
The military has repeatedly scaled down expectations for the push to squeeze the Taliban out of Kandahar, the group's birthplace.
First termed a military offensive, the operation is now regularly described by commanders as a "rising tide of security" or a "concept" in order to focus more on strengthening the local government.
But thousands of additional US forces are still pouring into the area.
In Arghandab district to the north of Kandahar city, an outgoing battlegroup of between 500 and 1,000 troops is being replaced in the next few weeks by a brigade, typically at least triple that number, according to a spokesman for NATO in the south.
The activation of the checkpoints is a reminder that the development projects and government-building are likely to be accompanied by more fighting in an already violent summer.
June was the deadliest month of the war for the NATO-led force with at least 102 fatalities among international service members.
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