NATO-Led Afghanistan Offensive: At least 20 insurgent militants killed in Operation Moshtarak

Earlier on Saturday morning, NATO troops and Afghanistan launched a coalition offensive to the Taliban stronghold in Marjah of Halmand Province by air and ground.

Up to Afghan's latest official information, at least 20 insurgent militants have been killed in the Operation Moshtarak, and NATO also had two casualties.

The long-waited attack is the first major combat operation since US President Barack Obama ordered 30,000 U.S. reinforcements in December.

At a news conference in the capital Kabul on Saturday, Afghan's Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak said the operation is "going well as planned". Meanwhile, he insisted the operation was not aimed to eliminate the Taliban insurgents.

Abdul Rahim Wardak, Afghan Defense Minister, said, "The goal is developing the influence of central government, safeguarding the civilians, and providing long-term security and stability for the residents."

British soldiers from the First Battalion The Royal Welsh mobilise for Operation Moshtarak, a combined force of 15,000 troops launching major assaults on Taliban strongholds in Helmand Province, at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan February 13, 2010. A U.S.-led NATO force began  a long-planned assault on the Taliban stronghold of Marjah in  Afghanistan's southern Helmand province on Saturday. REUTERS/SSgt Will Craig

NATO officials were cautiously optimistic following the start of the offensive to Afghan's most violent province. The troops have broken the Taliban grip over a wide area of their southern heartland, meeting only scattered resistance. But they are still facing a daunting thicket of bombs and booby traps, which slowed the allied advance through the town.

Mark Sedwill, NATO Spokesman, said, "So far the news from the ground appears to be positive, but we are only in the first day... One should never predict an outcome too early in an operation."

More than 1,000 UK troops participated in the military operation. Major General Gordon Messenger said that the Taliban were still a threat,though the British forces "have successfully secured the area militarily".

Several Afghan civilians who ventured out the village to talk to the US Marines said, teams of Taliban fighters were falling back deeper into the town, perhaps to try to regroup and mount harassment attacks to prevent the government from rushing in aid and public services - a key step in the operation.