War-Torn Afghanistan: U.S. Troops Secure Taliban Strongholds

U.S. Marines operating out of Camp Payne in the Helmand province of Afghanistan, the most southerly combat post in the country, scour towns in Nov. 2009 for improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that were left by the Taliban. Here, combat engineers move through a drug market known as Safar Bazaar looking for IEDs. (Nick Cornish)