British marines hunting down hostile forces in Afghanistan`s harsh mountains face a long, hard slog but defence analysts expect limited casualties.
The Defence Ministry said yesterday marines of the elite 45 Commando had launched a sweep of a valley in the southeast of Afghanistan in search of Taliban and al Qaeda forces codenamed "Operation Ptarmigan" after a mountain-dwelling grouse.
In the largest combat commitment since the Gulf War, Britain began sending troops to Afghanistan at the start of this month and the full contingent of 1,700 should be in place by the end of April.
While British deaths will probably be limited given that their enemies have been scattered by a six-month US-led military campaign, the Afghan mission will not be easy.
"The concern is not so much overall casualties, but the length of any operation," said Clifford Beal, editor of the London-based Jane`s Defence Weekly.
"It`s clearly open-ended and predicated on the ability of Taliban and al Qaeda to sustain guerilla operations. Assuming they have lines of supply within Pakistan, it is conceivable they could maintain those operations for months, if not longer."
Independent defence expert Paul Beaver described the kind of exchanges the marines would face as close-range firefights and guerilla warfare, for which the troops were well prepared.
"The Royal Marines are the best mountain troops in the world and the 45 Commando are the best of the best," he said.
But the difficulty of the terrain and their foe`s superior knowledge of the battlefield could mean a mission of six months or longer, Beaver added.
The marine deployment marks the start of the third phase of the US-led offensive in Afghanistan, following a countrywide air blitz and a ground assault called Operation Anaconda, aimed at rebels around the Shahi Kot Valley in eastern Afghanistan.
A reported 35 US troops have been killed in and around Afghanistan since last October, mostly in accidents.
Beal says the possibility of British deaths is high, if not the actual numbers.
The death toll will partly depend on politics - when Washington can reasonably claim to have fulfilled its objective of obliterating al Qaeda, the network which it blames for masterminding the September 11 attacks on US cities.
"The United States has said it would eradicate this organisation, but I don`t see how they can certify they have got every last one," Beal added.
Beaver said remaining pockets of fighters from al Qaeda and the Taliban - Afghanistan`s hardline rulers toppled late last year - would be tough to flush out.
"This is a battle against well-trained, well-motivated people who are effectively fighting for their own survival, and they know the territory."
Among the rebels are likely to be battle-hardened mujahideen who fought off the mighty Soviet forces during the 1980s.
A senior British government source said on Monday the rebels could regroup and run supplies from neighbouring Pakistan through the "porous" and "lawless" border regions.
Intelligence gathered from unmanned aircraft called drones and from special forces working alongside Afghans on the ground will be key if Britain is to keep casualties to a minimum.
"One major lesson from Operation Anaconda was the importance of these vehicles," said Ian Kemp, also of Jane`s Defence Weekly. "There was a realisation that combat casualties early in that campaign may have been avoided."
Kemp saw no difficulty in the command structure of the British marines deployment, according to which they remain under overall control of the US military.
As well as the 1,700 Royal Marines, Britain leads the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), Afghanistan`s peacekeeping force. Its commitment to the Afghan war is expected to total 6,100 personnel by the end of April.