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US Marines on Tuesday stepped up preparations for a major assault on a key Taliban bastion in southern Afghanistan hailed by officers as the biggest offensive of the eight-year war.

Thousands of Afghan, US and NATO forces are expected to launch Operation Mushtarak (Together) in a bid to clear the Taliban out of Marjah, home to some 80,000 people, and expand the control of the Western-backed Afghan government.

A US Marines officer said late Tuesday that the operation, to be led jointly by Marines and the Afghan army had not yet begun.

"The Marines have not started the operation in Marjah," he said, adding: "The operation will be led by the Marines and their Afghan partners."

Officials and witnesses say families have fled, loading goats, furniture and clothes on to vehicles and heading to safety in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province around 20 kilometres (12 miles) to the north.

Helmand Governor Mohammad Gulab Mangal said authorities are prepared for a possible civilian exodus ahead of an assault that could be launched within days aimed at clearing insurgents from one of their main bastions of control.

Tents and food had been stockpiled to cater for families who left the Marjah area as Afghan, US and NATO troops prepare to take on militants massing in the area, he told reporters.

"So far we have had two waves of displaced people from the area -- 72 and 92 families," he said, adding: "We've got tents, we've got food, we have a contingency plan, everything is in place."

The NATO-run International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said fewer than 200 families had left the Nad Ali area, where Marjah is located, since the prospective operation was announced.

"Combined force commanders are encouraging civilians to remain in the safety of their homes," it said in a statement.

"Every effort is being made to ensure minimum disruption to the residents during the operation."

NATO commanders have urged the Taliban to surrender but the militia, whose insurgency to bring down the Afghan government and eject foreign troops is now at its deadliest, have vowed to stay and fight.

Related article: Afghan assault to test US strategy

"The combat operations for the assault of Marjah have begun," Lieutenant Colonel James "Matt" Baker, of 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines Regiment told AFP late Monday, referring to the final phase of assault preparations.

About five kilometres (three miles) outside Marjah, an AFP photographer said US Marines were searching houses and compounds for improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the chief Taliban killer of foreign troops, and weapons.

Habibullah, who heads the district administration of Nad Ali, where Marjah is located, said "There are troops around Nad Ali and Marjah but so far the operation has not started."

The coming operation is the biggest push since US President Barack Obama announced a new surge of troops to Afghanistan and military officials say it is the biggest since the 2001 US-led invasion defeated the Taliban regime.

It is seen as pivotal to ground commander General Stanley McChrystal's strategy to mesh military operations with efforts to establish governance, security and development in a bid to prevent the Taliban from returning.

Mangal said officials had been open about the operation for months to give locals the chance to leave ahead of the assault and allow militants -- many of whom are seen as opportunistic fighters -- to surrender if they chose.

Obama last December ordered an extra 30,000 US troops into Afghanistan as part of the effort to defeat Al-Qaeda, reverse the Taliban insurgency and end the war so that American soldiers can start heading home in mid-2011.

Related article: Taliban, heroin hold sway in Marjah

A Taliban spokesman claimed Tuesday to have developed a new bomb nicknamed Omar, after their fugitive leader and which they say is impossible for Western mine sweepers to detect.

Western military intelligence officials have said most foreign troop deaths, which hit a record 520 last year, are caused by IEDs.

A US and another NATO soldier were killed in attacks in southern and eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, the alliance said.

Avalanches in a strategic pass through mountains in northern Afghanistan's Hindu Kush killed 24 people, with up to 40 people missing and feared dead, the interior minister said.

"The bodies of 24 of our compatriots have been found so far," Mohammad Hanif Atmar told reporters. "There is fear of another 40 who may be buried under the snow."

AFP