US Marines at the tip of a Nato assault battled with Taliban militants on Saturday in the town of Marjah, the last big militant bastion in Afghanistan's violent Helmand Province.
Reuters reporter Golnar Motevalli saw Marines engaging in a firefight with Taliban fighters several hours after the US troops landed in helicopters near the city. Marines fired two rockets at militants who attacked from compounds.
"They are about 300 metres away," Motevalli said as the sound of assault rifles crackled in the background. Moments earlier, two large explosions resounded and a large black plume of smoke rose into the sky.
