US Marines push deeper into southern Afghan towns

One Marine was killed and several others injured or wounded on Thursday, when some 4,000 Marines launched the operation in Helmand province -- a remote area that is at the center of the country's illegal opium cultivation, which helps finance the insurgency.

So far, however, there has been little resistance from the Taliban, according to a military spokesman Capt. Bill Pelletier.

Britain's Defense Ministry said a roadside bomb Wednesday in Helmand killed the most senior U.K. officer to have died in combat in Afghanistan. Lt. Col. Rupert Thorneloe was the commanding officer of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards.

In the country's east, meanwhile, a roadside bomb Friday killed three Afghans and a foreigner working on a road construction project, said Bismillah Mangal, the deputy governor Paktia province. The blast ripped through their vehicle as it was traveling on a road that connects Paktia and Khost province, Mangal said.

The aim of the operation in Helmand is not simply to kill Taliban fighters but to win over the local population, Pelletier said - a difficult task in a region where foreigners are viewed with suspicion.

"We are not worried about the Taliban, we are not focused on them. We are focused on the people," Pelletier said. "It is important to engage with the key leaders, hear what they need most and what are their priorities."

The offensive along 55 miles (88 kilometers) of Taliban-controlled areas in southern Afghanistan will test the Obama administration's new strategy of holding territory to let the Afghan government sink roots in rural areas where Taliban influence is strong.

The insurgency has proven particularly resilient in the area, and foreign troops have never before operated in such large numbers there. Large areas have been under Taliban control, with little or no government presence.

As the operation entered its second day, the units secured control of the district centers of Nawa and Garmser, and negotiated entry into Khan Neshin, the capital of Rig district, Pelletier said.

"They waited for the local and village elders," outside Khan Neshin and "with their permission they went in and now are engaged in talks," Pelletier said.

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