U.S. forces fight Taliban in Afghan south, 13 rebels dead

U.S. Marines from India Company, 3rd Battalion 4th Marines, walk as they go for a mission from base Delaram in Nimroz province, southern Afghanistan January 11, 2010.

DELARAM, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Hundreds of U.S. Marines were engaged in a second day of fighting on Monday with Taliban insurgents as they tried to clear a militant stronghold in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province, U.S. officials said.

Thirteen insurgents were killed in the early hours of Monday when the Marines called in a Hellfire missile strike from an unmanned Predator drone, U.S. Marine Major Dale Highberger, second in command of the operation, said.

Around 10,000 U.S. Marines moved into Helmand in spring last year, more than doubling the numbers of other NATO forces in the province, who had reached what military commanders called a "stalemate" with the Taliban, unable to hold the ground they had seized from the insurgents.

Since they arrived, the Marines have been pushing into Taliban-controlled areas, setting up smaller patrol bases amongst the towns and villages to try and separate the insurgents from the population, a key element of the top commander of foreign forces, U.S.Army General Stanley McChrystal's new war strategy.

Washington is now sending 30,000 more troops, including around 10,000 more Marines, some of whom have already started arriving to try and turn the tide in a war now more than eight years old and one that has grown increasingly unpopular in Western countries.

There are more than 110,000 foreign troops already in Afghanistan, including around 70,000 Americans.

In the latest offensive which is still ongoing and code named Cobra's Anger 2, two Marine companies from the 3rd Battalion 4th Marine Regiment were airlifted in the early hours of Sunday morning into Bar Now Zad, a series of villages to the northeast of the city of Now Zad in the north of Helmand province.

"Initially we caught them sleeping. We caught them with their pants down," said Highberger, second in command of 3rd Battalion.

"In the early morning hours they were able to rally their men and form some resistance, pockets of resistance," he said, adding the insurgents had grouped into squad-sized elements of up to 50 fighters.

Most of the resistance had been in the form of small arms fire and rocket propelled grenades, using typical guerrilla hit-and-run tactics, said Highberger.

Between 4 and 5 o'clock on Monday morning, a group of fighters with weapons were seen moving toward the Marines, said Highberger, when the missile strike was called in. Thirteen militants were killed, 11 of whom were confirmed Taliban fighters and two other associates, he said, adding three others were captured after the strike.

HELLFIRE MISSILES

Often associated with cross border strikes into Pakistan's tribal areas to target high-value al Qaeda members, missile strikes are being increasingly employed in Afghanistan, said Highberger. The Hellfire missile is said to be able to pinpoint its target and minimize collateral damage.

"It's not unusual. We use those more and more as they become available," said Highberger.

In December 2009, Marines launched the first stage of Cobra's Anger in the city of Now Zad, pushing for 20 days through the city, which had been under Taliban control for some time. Between 2006 and 2007, thousands of residents fled the city after British forces there became locked in intense fighting with insurgents.

Up until December's operation, Now Zad, once Helmand's second most populous city, resembled a ghost city, with the Taliban having virtual free rein of the area and using it as place for fighters to rest and regroup.

Now Marines have established a presence inside the city and residents have started to return, military officials say. The initial operation pushed many of the fighters to the north and into Bar Now Zad, separated from Now Zad city by a mountain range.