7,000 US Marines patrolling southern Afghan desert
Some 7,000 new US troops ordered to Afghanistan by President Barack Obama are fanning out across the country's dangerous south on a mission to defeat an increasingly violent Taliban insurgency.
Marine spokesman 1st Lt. Abe Sipe says 7,000 troops from the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade are now in the country. The brigade is based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. (AP)
