Foreign and Afghan forces encountered stiff resistance Saturday as their Operation Moshtarak offensive in southern Afghanistan entered its second week, and a civilian was mistakenly shot dead. "It is moving slowly but surely. The Marines are making some headway," said CNN correspondent Atia Abawi, who is embedded with U.S. Marines in and around Marjah in southern Afghanistan. "The Taliban are putting up quite a resistance."
The future of around 2,000 Dutch soldiers serving in Afghanistan has been thrown into doubt by the collapse Saturday of the Netherlands' coalition government. Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende's office said in a statement that the Labor Party had withdrawn from the government following days of talks over whether the troops should be brought home.