Nato-led troops launch major offensive in Afghanistan

A major offensive was underway last night in Afghanistan as Nato forces launched a series of attacks designed to drive out the Taliban.

Helicopter-borne US Marines and Afghan troops led the first assault on the town of Marjah, in Helmand province, where they were expected to face up to 2,000 insurgents, including an estimated 100 or more foreign fighters.

The Royal Welsh and the Grenadier Guards spearheaded British elements of the offensive which were concentrated on Nad Ali, Chah e Anjir and Babaji in the Taliban's southern Afghan heartlands.

On the eve of battle Lieutenant Colonel Matt Bazeley, the Commanding Officer of 28 Engineer Regiment, told 200 of the troops under his command: "We are going into the heart of darkness. It is bloody dangerous out there. You will be tested. If things go wrong, no sad moments, no pauses, we regather, recock, and go again. I repeat: much of this operation rests on us."

The launch of Operation Moshtarak marked the largest combat operation by Coalition troops since President Barak Obama announced in December he was sending an extra 30,000 US troops to Afghanistan in a bid to turn the tide against the Taliban.

Commanders had taken the unusual step of announcing the offensive several weeks before operations were begun in the hope that civilians might seek shelter away from the front line.

The long awaited offensive got underway at Marjah which is the biggest town under Taliban control in the south of the country and is regarded as vital to the insurgents' logistical network. Captain Joshua Winfrey, commander of Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, which was one of the first units into action, said shortly after 10pm: "The first wave of choppers has landed inside Marjah. The operation has begun."

The attack on Marjah was timed to take place during darkness at 2am local time and the town was illuminated by flares and the explosions of missiles as the assault troops fought their way inside. The town centre was thought to be the first objective of the assault being carried out by 4,500 US Marines, 1,500 Afghan troops and a further 300 US soldiers.

One of the priorities will be, once troops have control of the town and surrounding areas, to provide aid and restore public services. Such tactics are hoped to win the confidence of the townspeople and villagers and erode support for the Taleban.

Pentagon officials said last night that Afghanistan's Preisdent Hamid Karzai had approved the attack and had been informed of planning for the operation well in advance.

* A British soldier killed in an explosion in Afghanistan yesterday has been named by the Ministry of Defence. Lance Corporal Darren Hicks, 29, from 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, was caught in the blast while on foot patrol in the Babaji district of central Helmand province.