US Marines & Afghan Taliban battle in Marjah

U.S. Marines at the tip of a NATO assault battled with Taliban militants on Saturday in the town of Marjah, the last big militant bastion in Afghanistan's violent Helmand Province.

Reuters reporter Golnar Motevalli saw Marines engaging in a firefight with Taliban fighters several hours after the U.S. troops landed in helicopters near the city. Marines fired two rockets at militants who attacked from compounds.

"They are about 300 meters away," Motevalli said as the sound of assault rifles crackled in the background. Moments earlier, two large explosions resounded and a large black plume of smoke rose into the sky.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a brief statement three U.S. soldiers were killed in a bomb attack but did not make it clear if the deaths were during the assault on Marjah, in Helmand province.

Five Taliban fighters, meanwhile, have been killed and eight arrested since the offensive began overnight, said a Helmand government spokesman.

For the first time, Afghan soldiers are involved shoulder-to-shoulder with the international troops as they bring their fight to insurgents holding sway over the Marjah district of Helmand province.

Operation Together

"The Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan announced today that key military 'clearing' operations for Operation Mushtarak (meaning "together" in Dari) have begun in central Helmand," ISAF said.

"These 'clearing' operations follow the smaller-scaled 'shaping' operations that have helped set the conditions for this new phase of operations," it said, referring to weeks of build-up and skirmishes with militants in the area.

U.S. Marines are leading a combined force of 15,000, ISAF said, in Operation Mushtarak, meaning "together" in Dari, an assault aimed at undermining Taliban control over one of the world's biggest opium-producing regions.

A dozen helicopters flew from south of Marjah and the first objective of U.S. Marines was expected to be taking over the town center, a large cluster of dwellings.

One local Taliban commander, Qari Fazluddin, told Reuters earlier some 2,000 fighters were ready to fight in the densely-populated area.

Mushtarak is the first phase of a major operation to re-establish Afghan government control over the region.

Helmand Governor Mohammad Gulab Mangal said earlier this week that a government-in-waiting is poised to move in behind the military operation to set up civil services, including police and security.

The goal of the operation is to assist the Afghan government "in asserting its authority in central Helmand, thereby demonstrating the Afghan government’s commitment to the people living there," the ISAF statement said.

The operation, described as the biggest military assault in Afghanistan since the war began more than eight years ago, got under way soon after midnight (19:30 GMT), backed by NATO air support.

The safety of civilians may be the vital issue for NATO the offensive against the Taliban, which have re-emerged as a powerful fighting force since they were toppled by a U.S.-led invasion in 2001.

Civilian safety

Any heavy civilian casualties would make it even more difficult for the American-backed Afghan government to win support in towns that have been held by Taliban insurgents.

NATO forces have decided to advise civilians not to leave their homes, although they have said they do not know whether the assault will lead to heavy fighting.

Most of the population of the area, estimated at up to 100,000, has stayed put.

Unlike previous military operations, the assault on Marjah has been widely flagged for months. Commanders say they hope this will persuade many fighters to lay down their arms or flee, reducing the eventual body count.

Residents have been afraid to leave their homes in fear of roadside bombs planted by the Taliban to slow the U.S. advance.

Marjah, an area of lush farmland criss-crossed by canals, has been a breeding ground for both insurgents and opium poppy cultivation for years.