Like others elsewhere, the operation in Farah province is central to the debate raging thousands of miles away in Washington: how to prevent further attacks on foreign forces and win the hearts and minds of ordinary Afghans.

The Bhuji Bhast Pass between the Marines' base in Golestan and Delaram city 36 kilometres (22 miles) away is effectively a Taliban corridor, littered from one end to the other with improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

In between lie villages hostile to the presence of Western troops.

One bomb disposal specialist described it as "the worst, scariest place in the world" but searches still have to be carried out.

Hundreds of troops from the 2nd Battalion 3rd Marines, plus back-up divisions from the surrounding region and Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers, set off before dawn.

The search teams, accompanied by sniffer dogs, waited until sunrise to make their way past corn fields and cannabis plantations to nearby villages, as short bursts of machinegun fire echoed from the hills above.

Inside the domed mud huts, craggy Afghan men sat and watched quizzically as the Marines arrived to begin the search for bomb-making material and drugs.

Outside in the walled compound, women swathed anonymously in burqas huddled together, as cattle, donkeys, chicken and geese milled around.

Corporal Gabe Heckler emerged from one hut with a D-cell battery cut in half and a carbon rod, often used for creating IEDs.

"That's really the only reason you would take apart a D-cell battery, so someone has been manufacturing IEDs here," he told AFP.

A few metres (yards) away, other Marines discovered fertiliser, wires, ammunition, blasting caps, grenade fuses and photographs, which according to the Afghan military were of Taliban fighters.

A local girl with a pistol threw the weapon on the ground when the Marines arrived.

"We're going to detain two of these individuals, the owner of the household and his brother, who resides here also," said Lieutenant Shane Harden.

"The brother is missing an arm. He says he lost it in the Soviet invasion. These guys are obviously lying about their age because they look 50 and say they're 20.

"So far, the operation has been pretty successful. I think we've definitely disrupted activity. This is a good find."

IEDs have become the weapon of choice for the Taliban, whose influence is steadily spreading across Afghanistan, despite being virtually wiped out in early 2002.

On Wednesday, an IED stuffed with an estimated 60 pounds (27 kilograms) of explosives hit a mine-clearing vehicle in Bhuji Bhast Pass, but no Marines were injured.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said that the cheap, home-made and difficult-to-detect weapons account for three-quarters of all foreign troop deaths in Afghanistan.

This year has been the deadliest for the 100,000-strong US and NATO presence in Afghanistan. Some 400 troops have died so far in 2009, hitting public support back home and prompting calls for a rethink in Western strategy.

Against a backdrop of deep political party divisions, President Barack Obama is reviewing a request for 40,000 extra US troops, amid warnings that the war could be lost within a year without them.

The Taliban on Tuesday said they were prepared for a "long fight" and renewed their call for foreign forces to leave Afghanistan.

On the ground, Staff Sergeant Todd Bowers, who explains to villagers why their homes are being searched, told one elderly farmer they have no choice.

"We are doing this because the IEDs here have got so bad, so our only option is to sweep the village when they get this bad," he said.

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