In the Helmand province

U.S. soldiers from the 2nd Brigade, 87th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division, wait for resupplies carried by a Chinook helicopter at a fortified position on a mountain at Helmand Province.  (Rodrigo Abd / AP)

KEY BATTLEGROUND: A villager in Helmand province holds up his hands to show U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Mathew Banaszewski that he has no weapons. The province in southern Afghanistan is rife with drug lords, Taliban insurgents and poverty.  (Rodrigo Abd / AP)

Soldiers patrol near a fortified position in a mountain at Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan. Taliban militants overran mud brick houses and used to fire on U.S. forces.  (Rodrigo Abd / AP)

U.S. soldiers take up position in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan. U.S. troops took positions atop a mountain ridge in southern Afghanistan on Sunday to cut off key transport routes as part of a major anti-Taliban offensive that has killed scores of suspected militants in recent days.  (Rodrigo Abd / AP)