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Taleban 'cleared from Kandahar' Taleban 'cleared from Kandahar'
(about 1 hour later)
A senior Afghan official says Nato and Afghan forces have cleared out Taleban militants from the outskirts of the southern city of Kandahar. Nato and Afghan forces say they have driven Taleban fighters from areas close to the southern city of Kandahar.
Kandahar governor Assadullah Khalid told reporters that Taleban fighters had fled Arghandab district. A Nato spokesman said troops had met little resistance in Arghandab district near the city and there had been only sporadic clashes.
He said the Taleban had suffered heavy casualties in the fighting. Nato says the fighting has been light. Fifty-six Taleban and two Afghan troops died in the fighting, officials say. There is no independent confirmation.
Hundreds of people fled their homes in Arghandab district ahead of fighting between troops and militants Hundreds of people fled their homes in the Arghandab area before the operation which involved more than 2,000 troops.
The BBC's Martin Patience in Kabul says the Afghan government is under pressure to prove its effectiveness in dealing with militants in Kandahar after hundreds of militants escaped from a jail there last week. The operation began on Wednesday after the Taleban said they had taken charge of large parts of the district near the provincial capital.
The Nato-led peacekeeping force says there has been little fighting. At a joint press conference, a Nato spokesman said troops were now firmly in control of the area.
"So far our assessment is that if the insurgents are there they have not the numbers and the foothold that they previously claimed," spokesman General Carlos Branco told the AFP news agency.
"Obviously, they did choose not to fight," he said.
Nato spokesman Mark Laity told the Associated Press news agency that the military operation in Kandahar was progressing "methodically and successfully" and meeting very little resistance.
Governor Assadullah Khalid, however said the Taleban had "suffered hundreds of dead and wounded and many of their casualties are Pakistanis".
Major coup
A spokesman for the Afghan defence ministry told the BBC on Wednesday that more than 20 Taleban fighters had been killed in an air strike close to Kandahar, but there has been no independent confirmation of this.
The Afghan defence ministry had estimated that around 300 to 400 militant fighters were operating in Arghandab district and had taken at least eight villages.
Valley of crucial importanceVoices from Kandahar conflict Valley of crucial importanceVoices from Kandahar conflict
On Friday about 350 Taleban fighters escaped with other inmates from a jail in Kandahar. Only a handful of prisoners have been recaptured. "So far our assessment is that if the insurgents are there they have not the numbers and the foothold that they previously claimed," spokesman Gen Carlos Branco said, the AFP news agency reports.
The BBC's Martin Patience in Kabul says it is not clear whether some of those militants are being targeted by the current offensive. "Obviously, they did choose not to fight."
Our correspondent adds that the jail raid was a major coup for the Taleban, which draws much of its support from the south of the country. A number of Taleban fighters had been killed in airstrikes, he said.
Arghandab district lies about 5km (three miles) north of Kandahar city and is an important agricultural area. Earlier Kandahar Governor Assadullah Khalid said the Taleban had "suffered hundreds of dead and wounded and many of their casualties are Pakistanis".
Jailbreak
The BBC's Martin Patience in Kabul says the operation is being hailed a success by the Afghan government which has come under immense pressure to reassert its control in the province.
There has been a build up of Nato and Afghan forces in Arghandab district
Last week, the Taleban staged a massive jailbreak from Kandahar jail, freeing at least 350 insurgents.
The attack was hailed as a major triumph for the Taleban, which draws much of its support from the south of the country.
It is not clear whether some of those militants who escaped were being targeted in the operation, which Nato says is still continuing.
The Afghan defence ministry had estimated that around 300 to 400 militant fighters were operating in Arghandab district and had taken at least eight villages.
Arghandab district lies about 5km (three miles) north of Kandahar and is an important agricultural area.
It offers good fighting positions for Taleban militants with its vineyards and pomegranate orchards and numerous irrigation ditches.It offers good fighting positions for Taleban militants with its vineyards and pomegranate orchards and numerous irrigation ditches.
Kandahar is one of the key battlegrounds of the current rebel insurgency against Afghanistan's government and troops from Nato and a US-led coalition.Kandahar is one of the key battlegrounds of the current rebel insurgency against Afghanistan's government and troops from Nato and a US-led coalition.
President Hamid Karzai is from the city and it is also the birthplace of the Taleban.President Hamid Karzai is from the city and it is also the birthplace of the Taleban.