Marines corner Taliban holdouts in Afghanistan

US marines pass a Danish army Leopard 2A5EK tank as they clear Improvised Explosive Devices from a main route in Trikh Nawar on the North Eastern outskirts of Marjah on Sunday. Afghan police prepared to take control of a town at the centre of a US-led offensive against the Taliban, as trapped residents said they were running out of food. Photo: AFP

Marines and Afghan units converged on a dangerous western quarter of the Taliban stronghold of Marjah yesterday; with Nato forces facing "determined resistance" as their assault on the southern town entered its second week.
Fighter jets, drones and attack helicopters hovered overhead, as Marine and Afghan companies moved on a 2-square-mile (5.2-sq. kilometre) area of the town where more than 40 insurgents have apparently holed up.
"They are squeezed," said Lt Col Brian Christmas, commander of 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment. "It looks like they want to stay and fight but they can always drop their weapons and slip away. That's the nature of this war."
Insurgents are putting up a "determined resistance" in various parts of Marjah, though the overall offensive is "on track," Nato said Sunday, eight days after thousands of Afghan and international forces launched their largest joint operation since the Taliban regime's ouster in 2001.
Meanwhile, 3 foreign soldiers have died in Afghanistan, Nato reported Sunday, though neither was involved in a high-profile military operation against Taliban militants in southern Afghanistan.
In brief statements, Nato's International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) said both soldiers were killed on Saturday, one in the country's east and the other in the south.
Isaf did not give the nationalities of these soldiers, according to policy.
Late last week, Maj Gen Nick Carter, head of Nato forces in southern Afghanistan, said he believed it would take at least 30 days to complete securing the Nad Ali district and Marjah in Helmand province, a hub for a lucrative opium trade that profits militants.
The Marjah operation is a major test of a new Nato strategy that stresses protecting civilians over routing insurgents as quickly as possible. It's also the first major ground operation since President Barack Obama ordered 30,000 reinforcements to Afghanistan to curb the rise of the Taliban.
Once the town is secure, Nato plans to rush in a civilian Afghan administration, restore public services and pour in aid to try to win the loyalty of the population and prevent the Taliban from returning.
Twelve Nato troops and one Afghan soldier have died so far in the offensive. Senior Marine officers say intelligence reports suggest more than 120 insurgents have died.