Taliban lose control of key stronghold

The Afghan government took official control of the southern Taliban stronghold of Marjah today as Nato troops worked to root out final pockets of militants.

The ceremony was held in a central market as US Marines and Afghan soldiers slogged through bomb-laden fields in the north of the town.

The Marines and their Afghan partners are trying to secure a 28-square mile area believed to be the last significant pocket of Taliban in Marjah.

Militants and allied troops are still getting caught up in gunfights in some areas, Nato said.

But the number of residents returning has increased, shops have opened and officials hailed the installation of Abdul Zahir Aryan as the town’s administrator as a key sign of progress.

The ceremony opened with a reading from the Koran, and then he and the Helmand governor pledged to those gathered that they were ready to listen to their needs and eager to provide them with basic services that they did not have under the Taliban.

Operation Moshtarak, the mass assault in southern Helmand province with 15,000 Nato and Afghan troops, is the largest military operation in Afghanistan since the removal of the Taliban regime in 2001.

Nato’s strategy is to drive the Taliban from the town, which had served as a logistical base and drug trafficking hub, restore the Afghan government’s presence, and rush in public services in a bid to win over the confidence of local communities.

In the north today the Marines’ progress was slowed by difficult terrain with no roads, few tracks and many hidden mines.

About 100 fighters are believed to have regrouped into the area known as Kareze.

In a sign that Nato’s push to win over the population may be gaining ground, bomb tips from residents have increased by nearly 50%, the alliance said.

As the offensive closes in on its second week, 13 Nato troops and three Afghan soldiers have been killed, according to military officials. Eighty Nato troops have been wounded, along with eight Afghans.

At least 28 civilians have been killed, including 13 children.

The civilian toll has raised fears that Nato may lose the support of the population even as it drives out the Taliban. The deaths come although Nato has said its priority is protecting the civilian population and has adopted strict rules to prevent casualties.

A spokesman for the Afghan Defence Ministry said both the Afghan government and Nato troops realised they had to be realistic and accept that there would be civilian deaths.