Colonel Shirin Shah of the Afghan National Civil Order Police (right) addresses troops ahead of Operation Moshtarak, targeting the Taliban stronghold of Marjah in Helmand province [AFP]
Published On 14 Feb 201014 Feb 2010
It is being touted as the biggest operation since the US-led invasion in 2001 [AFP]
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Operation Moshtarak, which means "together" in the Dari language, involves more than 15,000 Nato and Afghan troops [EPA]
Nato says Afghan forces have been closely involved in the planning of the operation, and are expected to play a key role [EPA]
The operation began before dawn on Saturday and after Afghan civilians had been warned in advance [AFP]
Nato says it hopes to secure the area in days, set up a local government and rush in development aid [EPA]
As the operation got under way, the troops faced some resistance from Taliban fighters [AFP]
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Taliban fighters intermittently opened fire, forcing the US soldier and an Afghan man with his child to take cover [Reuters]
But Nato commanders were upbeat and claimed early success, allowing US troops to savour a break from fighting [AFP]
