KABUL (Reuters) -- Afghan army troops reached the centre of the Taleban stronghold of Musa Qala on Monday, but it was too early to say if the southern Afghan town had been fully captured, a spokesman for NATO-led forces said.

As the only sizeable town in Taleban hands, Musa Qala in Helmand province is symbolic for both sides in the conflict and its capture would be a major military boost for the Afghan government and its Western backers.
“The Afghan National Army has reached the centre of Musa Qala,” said International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) spokesman Major Charles Anthony. “I have not said it has been captured though.”
Taleban forces had fled Musa Qala toward mountains in the north, a resident said.
Thousands of Afghan, British and U.S. troops surrounded Musa Qala in an operation to retake it that began on Friday.
A British army spokesman said forces were pushing into the town, but it had not yet been captured.
As well a Taleban military stronghold, Musa Qala has also become the major Afghan centre for heroin production in a province that produces nearly half the world’s supply of its raw-material, opium, Afghan and international officials say.
NATO forces in Afghanistan have struggled to consolidate battlefield victories in the past due to the weakness of Afghan forces, particularly the police, who have been unable to enforce security and foster development and the rule of law.
Gordon Brown, on his first visit to Afghanistan since he became British prime minister in June, said Britain would do all it could to support development in Musa Qala.
“I think you’ll see in the next few days that this action will be effective, that it will work and that it will bring long-term and lasting results,” Brown told a news conference in the Afghan capital, Kabul.
“When that action is completed, we will give support for the economic and social development of the area,” he said.