U.S.-led coalition forces have reportedly taken control of Musa Qala, the biggest Taliban stronghold and thus the most important target in the region for both sides.

The announcement has been made by NATO today, after approximately 24 hours ago the Afghan defense ministry had said that the town located in the Helmand region was “completely captured” by NATO and Afghan forces.

The coalition forces including soldiers from Afghanistan, U.K., U.S. and Estonia have reportedly moved in the town centre this morning and they encountered little resistance after the Taliban had retreated due to the heavy bombardment.

 According to a statement coming from NATO's International Security Assistance Force (Isaf), the coalition troops were welcomed by locals as liberators.

“The action to retake the centre - after several months of Taliban control - was greeted enthusiastically by local residents, whose safety had been of paramount importance to the
liberating forces," the statement said.

The retreat was confirmed by Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi, who added that it was a strategic maneuver. In their retreat, the Taliban rebels attacked the nearby district of Sangin.

The fight for Musa Qala began last week and the coalition troops entered the town on Monday.

Musa Qala had been taken by the Taliban fighters in February after the British troops pulled out and left the security of the town to the locals. It had become a base for "foreign terrorists," Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi said. "Hundreds of terrorists had massed there."

Musa Qala and its surroundings have seen the heaviest fighting in Afghanistan this year.
Several Taliban militants were killed on Sunday and 10 others were captured around Musa Qalah, according to NATO's International Security Assistance Force.

On Saturday, the coalition forces killed 12 suspected militants and two children, who were caught in the fire exchange. The Taliban used the vehicle as a shield, the spokesman for the local Defense Ministry said.

During his trip to Afghanistan to meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown took the opportunity to visit the British troops as well. He visited troops at the main British military base in Helmand province and thanked them for their efforts.