A barefoot Afghan boy follows elders lea :: Do not delete

A barefoot Afghan boy follows elders leaving following a meeting with US Marines with 1/3 Marine Charlie company in Trikh Nawar, in an agricultural area in the northeast of Marjah on February 15, 2010. A dozen elders, turbans and beards gather at the market of Trikh Nawar (salty water in Pashtoun) for their first meeting with US marines. Under the protection of the ANA and the Marines, they sat in the shade of the market that was turned into a military outpost to the 1/3 Marines charlie company after the unit was airborned on the early morning of February 9 to take control of a major junction on the outskirts of Marjah. Some 15,000 soldiers, including 4,400 Afghans, are taking part in Operation Moshtarak, which aims to clear militants from the Marjah and Nad Ali districts of the poppy-growing central Helmand River valley. AFP PHOTO/PATRICK BAZ (Photo credit should read PATRICK BAZ/AFP/Getty Images)