UK TROOPS IN MAJOR AFGHAN OPERATION

Operation Silicon, involving more than 2,000 Nato and Afghan troops, was launched before dawn in the Sangin valley area of Helmand province.

In the first hours of the operation, several Taliban compounds were seized and destroyed amid moderate resistance from the group's fighters, said a spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) Regional Command South.

Lt Col Stephane Grenier said that Operation Silicon was part of the wider Operation Achilles launched in early March to prepare the ground for reconstruction work in the area by President Hamid Karzai's Afghan government.

He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "The Operation Achilles goal is to set the enduring security conditions in northern Helmand to allow the government to start reconstruction projects in the northern Helmand area, leading up to the eventual reconstruction of the Kajaki dam.

"Tactically, this set of tactical manoeuvres is yet another move on Isaf's behalf to further exploit the Taliban, who have been taken off guard since March 6.

"This operation is just another of dozens of similar operations that we have conducted under Operation Achilles since the beginning of March.

"It is going very well. So far, we are encountering some Taliban resistance, as is always the case in these operations.

"The resistance has not been overwhelming - I would probably categorise it as mild to moderate.

"So far, the troops engaged in this latest manoeuvre have already secured and destroyed several Taliban compounds, which is always good as we continue to erode Taliban extremists' ability to destabilise the south."