NATO forces launch new anti-Taliban operation
Thursday, 20 September 2007
KABUL, Sept 19 (AFP): About 2,500 Afghan and international soldiers launched a new operation Wednesday to clear out Taliban fighters from one of the most volatile areas of Afghanistan, the NATO-led alliance announced.
Troops backed by air power kicked off the operation in the early morning in the opium-growing southern province of Helmand, which has this year seen some of the worst fighting in the Taliban's Al- Qaeda-backed insurgency.
The new drive is focused on the province's Upper Gereshk Valley, an area that has seen weeks of intense fighting between Taliban and soldiers including from Britain, which has based its force in Helmand.
"It is an operation to clear out Taliban insurgents in that particular area and help to restore governance to that area," International Security Assistance Force spokesman Major Charles Anthony told reporters in Kabul.
Troops backed by air power kicked off the operation in the early morning in the opium-growing southern province of Helmand, which has this year seen some of the worst fighting in the Taliban's Al- Qaeda-backed insurgency.
The new drive is focused on the province's Upper Gereshk Valley, an area that has seen weeks of intense fighting between Taliban and soldiers including from Britain, which has based its force in Helmand.
"It is an operation to clear out Taliban insurgents in that particular area and help to restore governance to that area," International Security Assistance Force spokesman Major Charles Anthony told reporters in Kabul.