Britain: Offensive in Afghanistan a success

BRITAIN announced the end of a five-week offensive against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan yesterday, saying it had succeeded in driving militants out of population centres ahead of national elections next month.

Operation ‘Panther’s Claw’, which involved around 3,000 British troops backed by US, Danish and other NATO units, was the largest offensive by British forces since they took responsibility in mid-2006 for Helmand, a volatile desert-and-mountain province in the south.

The offensive is part of a series of operations that Western forces have launched ahead of Afghanistan’s presidential and provincial elections on August 20, designed to build security and allow as many people as possible to vote.