British troops in Taliban battle

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The aim of the drive is to re-establish the authority of the Afghan government and allow reconstruction, a British military spokesman said.

The advance to clear Taliban from the area began on Wednesday night.

Members of the UK taskforce, including Estonians and Danes, advanced from the north while US, Dutch and Canadian forces launched an air assault to the south.

During this advance, multi-national forces found a large weapons cache which was left behind as Taliban insurgents fled the area. This included machine guns and rounds, mortars, rocket propelled grenades and launchers, and anti-tank mines, plus bomb-making equipment.

Brigadier Jerry Thomas, Commander of the UK taskforce in Helmand, said: "The aim of this operation was to clear the Taliban from the Sangin area and re-establish the authority of the Government of Afghanistan in Sangin to create a secure, stable and prosperous environment in which reconstruction and development can take place.

"In the last two days we have made significant gains in pushing the Taliban from the area and that operation continues."

Starting late on Wednesday night, the multinational force of more than 1,000 troops and support elements began the major advance. A range of international troops were used, including British forces from the 42 Commando Royal Marines battle group, the Estonian armoured infantry company, and Danish recce squadron, all part of the UK task force.

They were all supported by a range of air assets including Chinook, Black Hawk and Apache helicopters. In the early stages, international forces encountered only sporadic resistance from insurgents as evidence suggested many Taliban leaders were fleeing the area. "There are still significant clearance operations to be conducted and it is therefore too early to establish the full strength of the insurgent opposition," a spokesman said.

There have been a small number of minor casualties from the multinational force, and no reported civilian casualties. A significant number of insurgents have been killed but it is not clear how many.