More than 15,000 US, UK and Afghan forces have faced gun battles and numerous booby-traps on day two of a major offensive against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan.
Operation Moshtarak, which means "together" in the Dari language, began on Saturday morning and will focus on the Helmand districts of Marjah and Nad Ali.
US Marines are leading the central push on Marjah, where their commander, Brig Gen Larry Nicholson (centre), said the troops had encountered a lot of sniper fire and improvised bombs.
Marjah and the surrounding district has been controlled for years by the Taliban. The town has been a centre of Afghanistan's trade in opium - used to produce heroin.
US soldiers engage in a firefight in Badula Qulp, west of Lashkar Gah in Helmand.
US troops wave off an evacuated comrade injured in the fighting around Marjah.
British troops are operating further north of Marjah in Nad Ali district, where military officials say "key objectives" have been secured, with little resistance from Taliban fighters.
UK Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth said the biggest threat facing troops in the operation was roadside bombs.
At least 20 Taliban fighters have been killed and another dozen detained. US Marines said this farmer, suspected of being a Taliban spotter, was found hiding in an irrigation ditch. He was searched and released.
Nato commanders say once the Marjah region has been cleared of Taliban, the challenge will be to rebuild security in the district and keep the Taliban out.
Nato officials say it is key to the long-term success of the operation that the civilians trust the Nato-led force.
But in the operation's first known civilian deaths, Nato said on Sunday that rockets aimed at insurgents missed and hit a house, killing 12 people. Nato's commander apologised to Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
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