Nato-led soldiers have killed 75 suspected fighters on the first day of an offensive against the Taliban in a valley in southern Afghanistan.

Major Dominic Biddick, who commanded a company of British troops in the operation, said the men died on Monday when British, Danish and Afghan troops fought their way up the Sangin Valley.

Biddick said the troops detained several more suspected fighters and discovered an arms cache during "a full day of fighting".

One British soldier was wounded, he said, without providing any details of his condition.

He said: "The operation went better than most people had anticipated.

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"At one point, there were six companies in clashes at the same time."

 

His tally of 75 fighters killed could not be independently verified.

 

The Sangin valley mission is part of Operation Achilles, Nato's largest-ever manoeuvre against the Taliban, which began in March.

 

The operation is focused on reclaiming Helmand, Afghanistan's most turbulent province, from the Tailban so that the government of Hamid Karzai, the president, can expand its reach.

 

Al Jazeera's correspondent in Afghanistan said that representatives of the government were heading towards the district to convince Taliban to leave the area without the intervention of foreign forces.

 

 

In other news, Afghan police said on Tuesday that at least 30 civilians,  including women and children, were among the dead after clashes in western Afghanistan that the US-led multinational force claimed had killed 136 Taliban members.

 

The fighting erupted in Herat province's Shindand district on Friday and again on Sunday.

 

"There were at least 30 civilians including women and children among those killed in Shindand's fighting," Mohammad Shafiq Fazli, the Herat police chief, said.