**Thousands of US, UK and Afghan troops are trying to consolidate gains on the second day of a major offensive against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan.**They are advancing carefully, clearing countless improvised explosive devices (IEDs) from the Helmand districts of Marjah and Nad Ali.
Some sustained gun battles have been reported and many buildings have been booby-trapped by the insurgents.
The attack is the first major test of President Obama’s new Afghan strategy.
The International Red Cross has set up a first-aid post in Marjah, which it says has already treated several dozen residents injured in the fighting.
Obama briefing
Nato officers and Afghan troops are holding shuras, or meetings, with tribal leaders, and plan to bring in hundreds of Afghan police officers in the coming days to help secure the captured areas.
AT THE SCENE
Ian Pannell,
BBC News, Nad AliBritish and Afghan soldiers are searching compounds throughout the area, looking for insurgents and defusing improvised explosive devices, which have killed and maimed so many.
Despite far less resistance than they had expected, there are still insurgents in the area. At the same time, they are working to convince locals that they are here to stay.
They have been holding meetings with key tribal elders, and some development work, including the building of a bridge, has already begun.
There has also been much talk of reintegration, and commanders want to persuade some insurgents to down their weapons.
But no-one is under any illusions that this is a long-term project. Although there is cautious optimism, nobody is talking about victory yet.Operation Moshtarak: Diary
US-led Operation Moshtarak - meaning “together” in the Dari language - is the biggest attack since the Taliban fell in 2001.
It began before dawn on Saturday when more than 15,000 troops flew into central Helmand.
American forces, led by 4,000 US marines, are focusing on Marjah, while 4,000 British troops target Nad Ali district.
A large Afghan force, as well as Canadians, Danes and Estonians are also involved.
At least 20 Taliban fighters have been killed and another 11 detained, an Afghan commander said.
On Saturday, a British soldier, from 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, died in a bomb blast in Nad Ali, while a US soldier was killed by gun fire.
President Barack Obama is said to be keeping a close eye on the operation, and will be briefed by the top US commander in Afghanistan on Sunday.
The BBC’s Frank Gardner, at Nato’s Kandahar headquarters, says there is a palpable sense of relief there.
Operation Moshtarak’s first day saw the largest helicopter-borne assault ever undertaken in Afghanistan, and it was almost unopposed, our correspondent says.
‘Riddled with mines’
Nato’s aim is to secure Marjah and its surrounding area, which has a population of about 125,000, as soon as possible and then to bring in aid and public services.
MARJAH: ‘TALIBAN STRONGHOLD’
- Town and district about 40km (25 miles) south-west of Lashkar Gah
- Lies in Helmand’s ‘Green Zone’ - an irrigated area of lush vegetation and farmland
- Last remaining major Taliban stronghold in southern Helmand
- Area considered a centre for assembling roadside bombs
- Key supply centre for opium poppies - lucrative revenue source for Taliban
- Estimates of Taliban numbers range up to 1,000
- Population of Marjah town put at 80,000 while the whole of Marjah district is thought to have 125,000
In pictures: Operation Moshtarak
Conflict reaches critical juncture
Details on Operation Moshtarak
As well as having been a Taliban stronghold, Marjah has also long been regarded as a linchpin of the lucrative network for smuggling opium - the raw ingredient used to make heroin.
On Saturday, Maj Gen Gordon Messenger told a briefing in London there had been “sporadic fighting” and the Taliban were unable to “put up a coherent response”.
RAF Tornado jets and unmanned aerial vehicles have spent the last few days monitoring the landing sites from high in the air, scanning for freshly laid IEDs.
But the insurgents, too, have had months to prepare for this offensive and Nato commanders say the area now occupied by the advancing troops is riddled with hundreds of mines.
US Marine commander Brig Gen Larry Nicholson told AFP news his troops had “blown up a lot of IEDs”.
He said about 2,000 of his force were inside Marjah, and they had come up against “a lot of sniper fire”.
Marine ordnance teams have blown up dozens of bombs, setting off blasts that reverberated through the dusty streets.
“Basically, if you hear the boom, it’s good. It means you’re still alive after the thing goes off,” US Marine L/Corp Justin Hennes told AP news agency.
‘Publicity stunt’
A pharmacist told the Marines through an interpreter the entrance to his shop had been booby-trapped, and he could not get into his home, reports AP.
Using metal detectors and sniffer dogs, the Marines have been painstakingly clearing hidden bombs from houses, one by one.
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US forces also said they had discovered freshly abandoned sniper positions, booby-trapped with grenades.
It was estimated there were between 400 and 1,000 militants based in the region before the operation was launched.
Correspondents say most of the Taliban appear to have scattered in the face of overwhelming force, possibly waiting to regroup and stage attacks later.
But on Sunday, a flag-raising ceremony by Nato-led forces in Marjah drew gunfire, reports Reuters news agency, although nobody is thought to have been hurt.
“I have always dreamed of raising the Afghanistan flag over Marjah,” Afghan soldier Almast Khan told Reuters.
The BBC’s Frank Gardner says the real challenge is still to come: building lasting security for the residents of central Helmand.
The operation’s success or failure depends on whether it can be swiftly followed by security and good governance, something that has been all too rare in the troubled south of the country, says our correspondent.
A Taliban commander, named as Mullah Abdul Rezaq Akhund, reportedly labelled the operation a public relations stunt.
“Their main objective from all this propaganda is to give some prestige to the defeated and failed military commander General Stanley McChrystal, even if it is the short-term capture of a small village, and shown on Western television,” he was quoted as saying, in a statement e-mailed to AFP.
OPERATION MOSHTARAK:DAY ONE - 13 FEBRUARY 2010
- 1: Consolidation of security
- 2: UK/Danish troops disrupt Taliban movements
- 3: Forces secure Canal 56 crossings
- 4: Helicopter insertions
- 5: Helicopter and ground insertions into Marjah
Source: UK Ministry of Defence
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