NATO and the Afghan army have announced that they have most of the southern Afghan city of Marjah and its surroundings under control. They say their troops are now concentrating on clearing mines, roadside bombs and other explosives to make the area safe for Afghan security forces. The security forces will enter the city in the coming days and establish government authority.

However, snipers continued to fire on Western troops throughout Monday and there have been reports that Taliban fighters are putting up a stiff resistance in some areas of the city. NATO has declined to say whether its troops sustained any casualties in the day’s fighting.

Marjah lies in the southern province of Helmand and is the last major stronghold of the Taliban. On Sunday US, British and Afghan forces mounted Operation Moshtarak against the city. It is the biggest allied offensive since the war began in 2001.

On Sunday, 12 Afghan civilians were killed by allied rocket fire. The commander of the US forces in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, offered his apologies to Afghan President Hamid Karzai for the 12 deaths.