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Zhari district, Kandahar province, Afghanistan - September 25, 2010 US combat troops (2nd platoon, Dog Company, 2nd Battalion 502 parachute infantry regiment, 101st Airborne Division,) and a few Afghan National Army soldiers return fire against insurgents during their push into Taliban occupied territory in western Zhari district. American, Afghan, and British combat troops have been slowly taking ground from the Taliban in the provinces surrounding Kandahar city with the goal of securing insurgent supply routes and combat positions surrounding the city. After the immediate goal of controlling territory militarily and securing the civilian population, ISAF forces hope to lay the ground for the government of Afghanistan to better establish itself in Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban. ISAF operations in Kandahar province have been picking up momentum since a surge of US combat troops arrived in Afghanistan during the spring and summer of 2010.