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A major operation in the province -- considered to be a Taliban stronghold -- is seeing more than 700 British troops enter the area as part of Operation Panther's Claw, designed to install Afghan rule in the lawless region ahead of the August presidential elections, the BBC said Saturday.

British military commanders had expected stiff resistance from insurgents, but so far, few such encounters have taken place, they say.

The British broadcaster said many Helmand residents have left the region because of fighting in earlier phases of the operation, in which soldiers cleared private compounds that had been used by the Taliban to launch attacks.

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