US claims its marines have managed to subdue the notoriously violent Sangin district in Afghanistan

The US claims its marines have managed to subdue the notoriously violent Sangin district in Afghanistan within five months of their arrival, a goal that eluded British forces for four years.

The Helmand hotspot, which turned into a death trap for British forces, was described on Tuesday by US defence secretary Robert Gates as perhaps the most dangerous place in the world. He praised the marines for bringing about "a dramatic turnaround" in such a short period.

The marines, who took over from the British in October, say they adopted a different strategy from their predecessors, taking the fight to the Taliban, and have killed, captured or driven them out.

Gates was visiting Sangin for the first time as part of a two-day trip to Afghanistan to assess the security situation before the Obama administration decides how many of the 100,000 US troops it can begin bringing home from July.

British forces, deployed in 2006 to Sangin – home to a dangerous mix of Taliban fighters and drug traffickers – lost 106 dead there, a third of all their fatalities in Afghanistan. The mission was controversial, with accusations that the force was too small, that they pursued the wrong strategy and were under-equipped, particularly lacking helicopters. British commanders, at the time of their departure, rebuffed suggestions they had failed in their mission, and there has been intense interest since as to whether the US marines would be any more successful.

Gates was unequivocal in expressing his belief that they had been, telling a gathering of marines at the heavily fortified Sangin base: "Before you arrived here, the Taliban was dug in deep and, as the British before can attest, this district was the most dangerous not only in Afghanistan but maybe the whole world. In your five months here, you have killed, captured or driven out the Taliban that called this place home."

The marines had also achieved a "strategic breakthrough" by allowing three key areas to be linked up, he added, part of wider strategy of expanding the security "bubble".

Gates was speaking at the marines' Sangin base, Sabit Qadam, originally called Jackson by British forces, its extraordinary level of fortifications a testimony to the action it has seen since 2006. The marines were gathered to hear Gates in a small dusty square, in the middle of which lies a memorial to the British dead.

The marines opted to go on the offensive from the start, confronting the Taliban in the areas they held, in contrast with the British strategy of trying to protect the main road. The American approach was costly and Gates revealed the marines lost 29 killed and 179 wounded, the highest casualty rate of any US battalion in Afghanistan.

But while costly in terms of casualties in the short-term – Gates said 90% were suffered in the first 90 days – the Americans suggest it is paying off in the longer term. "It has been very different since then," Gates said.

The Americans claim around 400 confirmed Taliban dead, 150-200 wounded and 50-75 captured, though many analysts accuse the US of inflating figures.

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