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MARJAH, Afghanistan (AP) — Outnumbered and outgunned, Taliban fighters are mounting a tougher fight than expected in Mar- jah, Afghan officials said Sunday, as U.S.-led forces converged on a pocket of militants in a western sec- tion of the town. Despite ongoing fight- ing, the newly appointed civilian chief for Marjah said he plans to fly into the town Monday for the first time since the attack to begin restoring Afghan government control and winning over the population after years of Taliban rule. With fighter jets, drones and attack helicopters roar- ing overhead, Marine and Afghan companies advanced Sunday on a 2- square-mile (5.2-sq. kilo- meter) area where more than 40 insurgents were believed holed up. ''They are squeezed,'' said Lt. Col. Brian Christ- mas, commander of 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regi- ment. ''It looks like they want to stay and fight but they can always drop their weapons and slip away. That's the nature of this war.'' U.S. officials signaled their intention to attack Marjah, a major Taliban supply and opium-smug- gling center, months ago, apparently in hopes the insurgents would flee and allow the U.S.-led force to take over quickly and restore an Afghan govern- ment presence. Instead, the insurgents rigged Marjah with bombs and booby traps to slow the allied attack, which began Feb. 13. Teams of Taliban gunmen stayed in the town, delivering sometimes intense volleys of gunfire on Marine and Afghan units slogging through the rutted streets and poppy fields. Afghan Defense Min- istry spokesman Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi said the U.S. and its allies had expected the Taliban to leave behind thousands of hidden explosives, which they did. But they were surprised to find that so many militants stayed to fight. ''We predicted it would take many days. But our prediction was that the insurgency would not resist that way,'' Azimi told The Associated Press in Kabul. In a statement Sunday, NATO acknowledged that insurgents were putting up a ''determined resistance'' in various parts of Marjah, although the overall offen- sive is ''on track.'' Marine spokesman Lt. Josh Diddams said Sunday that Marines and Afghan troops were continuing to run into ''pockets of stiff resistance'' though they were making progress. Did- dams said no area is com- pletely calm yet although three markets in town — which covers about 80 square miles — are at least partially open. ''Everywhere we've got Marines, we're running into insurgents,'' Diddams said. In many cases, the militants are fighting out of bunkers fortified with sandbags and other materials. Before the assault, U.S. officers said they believed 400 to 1,000 insurgents were in Marjah, 360 miles (610 kilometers) southwest of Kabul. About 7,500 U.S. and Afghan troops attacked the town, while thousands more NATO soldiers moved into other Taliban strong- holds in surrounding Hel- mand province. It was the largest joint NATO-Afghan operation since the Taliban regime was ousted from power in 2001. NATO's civilian chief in Afghanistan, Mark Sedwill, said the military operation was moving slowly ''because of essentially the ruthlessness of the oppo- nent we face and the rules that we've set for our- selves'' to protect civilians. ''We could have swept through this place in a cou- ple of days but there would have been a lot of casual- ties.'' he said. NATO said one service member died in a roadside bombing Sunday, bringing the number of international troops killed in the opera- tion to 13. At least one Afghan soldier has been confirmed dead. Senior Marine officers say intelli- gence reports suggest more than 120 insurgents have died. The Marjah operation is a major test of a new NATO strategy that stresses pro- tecting civilians over rout- ing insurgents quickly. It's also the first major ground operation since President Barack Obama ordered 30,000 reinforcements to Afghanistan. In a setback to that strat- egy, the Dutch prime minis- ter said Sunday that his country's 1,600 troops would probably leave Afghanistan this year. Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende spoke a day after his government col- lapsed when a coalition partner insisted the Dutch troops leave in August as planned. Most Dutch troops are stationed in Uruzgan province, which borders Helmand to the north. Afghan officials expressed concern that Taliban fight- ers driven out of Helmand could regroup in Uruzgan without a robust NATO presence. During Sunday's fight- ing, Marines found several abandoned Kalashnikov rifles along with ammuni- tion hidden in homes, sug- gesting that insurgents intended to blend into the local population and fight back later. Sporadic volleys of insurgent machine-gun fire rang out through the day. ''They shoot from right here in front of a house, they don't care that there are children around,'' said Abdel Rahim. Abdul Rahman Saber, chief of the local council for Marjah, said the situa- tion in much of the town was improving — that some residents had been able to return to their homes. Anxious to begin the task of restoring govern- ment authority, Zahir, the new district leader, said he plans to meet Monday with community leaders and townspeople about security, health care and reconstruc- tion. ''The Marines have told us that the situation is better. It's OK. It's good,'' said Zahir, who like many Afghans goes by one name. ''I'm not scared because it is my home. I have come to serve the people.'' Life in Marjah, however, remains far from normal. The price of food had soared, with the price of sugar and other staples dou- bling as the fighting contin- ues. 8B – Daily News – Monday, February 22, 2010 www.integrityhvac.com Visit our website @ 5213 Industrial Way, Anderson, CA State Lic. 750325 Solar Lic. 931200 Comfort you can trust! Redding 242-9100 Anderson 365-9100 Red Bluff 528-9100 343 S. 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