700 Taliban trapped by Nato offensive

Nato and Afghan forces used artillery and air strikes overnight to keep up pressure on an estimated 700 Taliban trapped by an offensive that the alliance claims has killed at least 200 militants in southern Afghanistan, Nato said today.

Meanwhile, Nato leaders including Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and top commander US Gen. James Jones were in Afghanistan for talks with Afghan officials on a security and development accord and to assess progress in the alliance’s mission to stabilise the volatile south.