GUNBATTLES RAGE AS TALIBAN DIG IN AROUND MARJAH AFGHANISTAN

Just when it appeared as though the Taliban were going to slip out of Marjah, Afghanistan, the tide has turned and the Taliban have dug in and decided to fight the 3,000 U.S. Marines and NATO forces.

Early reports are the fighting is fierce and increasing.

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Gunbattles rage as Taliban fighters dig in

U.S. Marines face ‘death at every corner’ on second day of Afghan offensive

The Associated Press

updated 4:26 a.m. CT, Sun., Feb. 14, 2010

MARJAH, Afghanistan - Squads of Marines and Afghan soldiers occupied a majority of the Taliban stronghold of Marjah on Sunday, but gunfire continued as pockets of militants dug in and fought, military officials said.

The second day of the largest offensive since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan was characterized by painstaking house searches and sporadic fighting.

The troops cleared out booby-trapped houses one by one, advancing slowly down streets littered with thousands of homemade bombs and mines. Shots continued to ring out in some neighborhoods.

"We're in the majority of the city at this point," said Lt. Josh Diddams, a Marine spokesman. He said the nature of the resistance has changed from the initial assault, with insurgents now holding ground in some neighborhoods.

"We're starting to come across areas where the insurgents have actually taken up defensive positions," he said. "Initially it was more hit and run."

The Marjah offensive is NATO's most ambitious effort yet to break the militants' grip over their southern heartland.