Afghan and NATO military officials say troops are making steady progress in the offensive to clear Taliban militants out of a major stronghold in the southern province of Helmand.
Some 15,000 U.S., British and Afghan troops are involved in operations centering on the town of Marjah, in the biggest joint operation since the war began in 2001.
While commanders report progress they also say their troops are coming under heavy fire in some areas, and roadside bombs have slowed down their campaign against the Taliban.
Afghan Interior Minister Hanif Atmar says the coalition forces have besieged Marjah. Speaking to reporters in the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah, the minister urged militants to surrender.
Afghan officials say at least 27 insurgents and two soldiers (one British and U.S.) were killed during the fighting Monday.
Twelve civilians were accidentally killed on Sunday when two rockets fired by coalition forces missed their target and hit a home.
NATO has taken responsibility for the incident and suspended use of the rocket system involved. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has ordered an investigation into the deaths.
The United Nations says the number of civilian families fleeing the war zone has risen to nearly 1,100.
Wael Haj-Ibrahhim, a top official at the U.N. office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Kabul told VOA the U.N. has put in place adequate measures to handle the displaced families. But he says the U.N. is worried about families still trapped in the town of Marjah.
Separately in southern Afghanistan, two British soldiers were killed Sunday in an unrelated offensive. NATO says one soldier was shot during a fire-fight while on a nighttime patrol in the Musa Qaleh district of Helmand province. Earlier Sunday, a British soldier was killed in an explosion in Sangin, also in Helmand.