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New Nato push 'kills 20 Taleban' 'Nato dead' in Afghan operation
(about 4 hours later)
A new joint Nato and Afghan army operation against Taleban strongholds in southern Afghanistan is getting results, a Nato spokesman has said. A Nato-led operation near Kandahar in south Afghanistan has left a number of coalition troops and dozens of insurgents dead, Afghan officials say.
More than 20 insurgents have been killed since the drive began on Saturday, a military spokesman said. Around 2,000 Nato and Afghan soldiers are involved in Operation Medusa, Nato said, although it would give no further details on coalition casualties.
Operation Medusa, involving 2,000 Afghan and Nato soldiers, is focusing on a rebel area of Kandahar province. The operation is the same one that saw a UK reconnaissance plane crash, killing all 14 people on board.
Hours after the operation began, a UK reconnaissance plane crashed in the region, killing all 14 people on board. Afghanistan is witnessing its bloodiest period since the Taleban fell in 2001.
The British authorities say they believe a technical fault was to blame. Both they and Nato have rejected Taleban claims the Nimrod MR2 aircraft was shot down.
Southern clashesSouthern clashes
Operation Medusa is the biggest military operation in southern Afghanistan since the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) took over the area from a US-led coalition at the end of July.Operation Medusa is the biggest military operation in southern Afghanistan since the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) took over the area from a US-led coalition at the end of July.
It is concentrated on the Panjwayi area, about 35km (20 miles) west of Kandahar city, which has seen months of fighting.It is concentrated on the Panjwayi area, about 35km (20 miles) west of Kandahar city, which has seen months of fighting.
Last month, a suicide car bomber killed more than 20 people in a market in the centre of Panjwayi town. An Afghan defence ministry spokesman, Zahir Azimi, said three Canadian soldiers had been killed and six wounded, but there is no confirmation from Nato or Canadian authorities.
The operation had "special emphasis on driving out the insurgents so Afghans in Panjwayi district can return to their homes and orchards that sustained their livelihoods," an Isaf spokesman said. Isaf would only say there had been several Nato casualties.
"We all see signs that the Isaf troop presence in the area is doing just that with more than 20 insurgents killed there in recent action," Maj Luke Knittig told reporters in Kabul. Mr Azimi said coalition forces had launched 40 artillery and air strikes.
Afghanistan is going through its bloodiest period since the fall of the Taleban in 2001. Much of the fighting has been concentrated in the south. Nato spokesman Maj Scott Lundy said the coalition forces had gained ground and disrupted the Taleban command and control.
The operation had "special emphasis on driving out the insurgents so Afghans in Panjwayi district can return to their homes and orchards that sustained their livelihoods," a coalition spokesman said.
In the crash of the Nimrod MR2 aircraft, British authorities said they believed a technical fault was to blame.
Both they and Nato rejected Taleban claims to have shot down the aircraft.
Nato forces are guarding the crash site as the bodies of the dead are recovered and an investigation gets underway.
Much of the fighting between the Taleban and coalition forces in recent months has been concentrated in the south.