Coalition forces killed 10 insurgents on Saturday during the start of an offensive against hundreds of suspected Taliban fighters in southern Afghanistan, military officials said.

As many as 400 insurgents are believed to be entrenched in the Sangin region of Helmand province.

For the first time since the Korean War, a Canadian Forces aircraft drops supplies to support troops in combat somewhere in Afghanistan.
(Courtesy: DND)

Canadian, American, Afghan and British forces are attacking from both the air and on the ground, hoping to encircle fighters loyal to the country's old Taliban regime, military officials said.

The U.S. forces are pushing down from the north, the Canadians are sweeping up from the south and helicopters are airlifting British soldiers into the middle of the battlefield.

A Canadian military spokesman told CBC News there is solid intelligence indicating a concentration of Taliban in the area.

"The purpose is to move in, remove the Taliban from the security equation, and then continue with the local engagement between Afghan officials, coalition officials and the local population to look at what can be done in the way of reconstruction." said Maj. Scott Lundy of the Canadian Forces.

"The operation kicked off before dawn with the helicopter insertion into several designated landing zones," Lundy said. "On arrival, the infantry fought a short battle in which 10 Taliban were killed."

Helmand is a hotspot in the conflict and one of Afghanistan's most dangerous provinces, with almost daily clashes between insurgents and foreign and Afghan troops.

A military commander told CBC that the search for insurgents is like "punching a fly," and said it's bound to be a difficult mission because the insurgents know the area well.