200 Taliban killed in Afghan offensive

Warplanes today dropped bombs on suspected Taliban fighters hiding in orchards and ground troops fired artillery in a major Afghan-Nato offensive that killed more than 200 militants in southern Afghanistan.

Four Canadian soldiers were also killed in the clashes.

Booming explosions echoed above the grape and pomegranate fields in Panjwayi district, about 12 miles from Kandahar city, as planes pounded militants believed to be hiding amid the greenery and dried-mud houses.

Operation Medusa was launched on Saturday to flush out Taliban fighters from Panjwayi and neighbouring Zhari district. Said Nato spokesman Major Scott Lundy.

The casualty counts, which if confirmed represent one of the deadliest combat actions since US-led forces ousted the Taliban regime five years ago, could not be independently verified.

Authorities have barred citizens from travelling on all but the main road running through this part of Kandahar province, and the battlefield could not be reached by reporters.

Earlier, Afghan Defence Ministry spokesman Gen Zahir Azimi said Nato and Afghan forces had launched about 40 artillery and air strikes. He said 89 militants and a number of civilians had died during the two days of fighting.

Afghan Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak said the Taliban casualties were high, but could not confirm the Nato report of more than 200 dead.

Jason Husiak, a spokesman at the Canadian Department of National Defence, said four Canadian soldiers were killed in today’s fighting and others wounded. Nato said there were seven wounded, one seriously, and six of them were expected to return to duty within a few days.

Nato said there were no reports of civilian casualties, despite the heavy weight of fire being used.

Nato forces took command of security in Afghanistan’s volatile southern provinces from a US-led coalition in August amid the bloodiest fighting since the Taliban fell in late 2001.