The United States is sending a company of M1 Abrams tanks to Afghanistan, the first such deployment of heavy tanks in the nine-year war, the Washington Post reported Friday.
Sixteen of the 68-ton tanks are headed for use by the US Marines in south-west Afghanistan, officials told the Post, and will considerably boost the firepower and range of guns against insurgents, DPA reported.
"The tanks bring awe, shock and firepower," an unidentified military officer was quoted as saying. "It's pretty significant."
The deployment of heavy tanks is seen as part of the overall intensification of the war against Taliban insurgents in recent months.
The Post reported that US and NATO aircraft used a total of 1,000 bombs and missiles in October, more than in any month since the war began in 2001.