(10 Dec 2007) SHOTLIST
1. Vehicles carrying Afghan soldiers driving through checkpoint near Musa Qala
2. Wide shot of vehicles leaving Musa Qala
3. Afghan soldiers standing guard at checkpoint
4. Afghan soldier with rocket launcher
5. Various of Afghan soldiers conducting security checkpoints
6. SOUNDBITE: (Pashto) Maimatullah, local resident:
"NATO were not stopping those civilians who were leaving the area and they were not causing a problem."
7. Helicopter above Musa Qala
8. Wide shot of vehicles on road between road between Musa Qala and Lashkergah
STORYLINE
Hundreds of Afghan soldiers established security checkpoints in and around Musa Qala on Monday, as Afghan and international forces retook the southern town held by Taliban militants since February.
An Afghan Ministry spokesman said Afghan, British and US forces had "completely captured" Musa Qala.
A spokesman for the Afghan army said both sides were still exchanging fire, adding that foreign fighters or al-Qaida members were putting up the remaining resistance.
NATO's International Security Assistance Force said ISAF and Afghan troops had entered the outskirts of the main part of Musa Qala but would now proceed cautiously into the town centre because of improvised explosive devices.
AP Television footage showed residents fleeing the town on the road between Musa Qala and Lashkergah.
A Taliban spokesman said militant fighters left Musa Qala as a strategic decision to avoid Taliban and civilian casualties.
Afghan and international troops have stepped up operations around Musa Qala since early November, and fighting in the area has intensified in the last several days as forces advanced on the town.
Taliban militants overran Musa Qala in February, four months after British troops left the town following a contentious peace agreement that gave security responsibilities to Afghan elders.
US-led coalition troops carried out airstrikes on Sunday against compounds used by Taliban weapons smugglers in Musa Qala, the coalition said on Monday.
Several militants were killed and two civilians were wounded, it said.
Musa Qala is in the north of Helmand province, the world's largest opium poppy growing region - and the front line of Afghanistan's bloodiest fighting this year.
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