NC Marines return after 7 months in Afghanistan

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (AP) – North Carolina-based Marines are returning home after seven months in southern Afghanistan.

More than a thousand Marines from the 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment will start returning Monday to Camp Lejeune. The Marines operated in Marjah, a small town in the Helmand Province. The unit conducted counterinsurgency operations in the wake of the initial assault on the town earlier this year. The unit is being replaced by another battalion from Camp Lejeune.

Camp Lejeune Marines started deploying last year to Afghanistan as part of a surge of forces to the central Asian country. In the last few months, the Taliban has ramped up attacks against troops. June was one of the deadliest months for international forces in Afghanistan.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)