Afghan flag flies over captured Taliban stronghold

KABUL (Reuters) - The Afghan flag was flying over the town of Musa Qala on Wednesday, the Defence Ministry said, after five days of fighting to retake the only town in Afghanistan that had been controlled by Taliban insurgents.

Musa Qala, in the southern province of Helmand, took on a symbolic importance after the Taliban seized it in February following the breakdown of a much-criticized local truce that allowed besieged British troops to pull out of the town in October last year.

British and U.S. troops launched the offensive on the outskirts of Musa Qala on Friday, opening the way for Afghan forces to move in and retake the town, one of the biggest operations carried out by the fledgling Afghan army so far.

"The victorious national flag of Afghanistan was raised at full mast in Musa Qala and Afghan forces are present in the centre of the town," the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

"The terrorists suffered heavy losses during the operation," it said.

But beyond demonstrating the progress made by the Afghan army and the psychological boost from recapturing a town previously lost, security analysts say Musa Qala, in the north of the desert province, has little strategic value and its capture does not affect the Taliban's ability to launch guerrilla strikes.

TALIBAN HIT BACK

As if to demonstrate that point, the Taliban counter-attacked near Sangin, further south in Helmand, a town captured by British forces in April in an offensive to relieve British troops under siege in the town hall there for more than nine months.

"After fleeing Musa Qala the insurgents wanted to put pressure on Sangin district ... during 48 hours of fierce fighting, Afghan troops killed more than 50 terrorists," the Defence Ministry said.

"Among the enemy casualties, there were three foreign fighters and we have also killed three Taliban commanders ... NATO also used air power during the operation," it said.

NATO commanders have often complained they are short of troops on the ground and the relative weakness of Afghan forces, particularly the police, means it is hard to consolidate military victories and bring security to government-controlled areas.

The United States has budgeted some $2.5 billion to build up and train the Afghan police in this year alone, but it will be some time before the results will be evident on the ground.

A solid police presence in towns and districts is essential to stem the tide of suicide bombs that have killed more than 200 civilians in Afghanistan in this year alone, analysts say.

One civilian was killed and another four wounded in a suicide car bomb attack in the city of Kandahar which targeted an Afghan army vehicle on Wednesday, a Reuters witness said.

Taliban insurgents have launched more than 140 suicide attacks this year in a campaign to demonstrate to Afghans that their pro-Western government and international forces are incapable of bringing security to the country.

(Editing by Jerry Norton)