Nato launches new operation in Afghanistan

Nato forces in Afghanistan launched a new military operation today in the most violent southern province, while nearby a suicide bomber on foot blew himself up next to a police vehicle, wounding eight policemen, officials said.

Some 2,500 Afghan and Nato troops began the operation in the Gereshk region of Helmand province, the site of the fiercest battles this year and the largest opium-producing region in the world.

Nato’s International Security Assistance Force said the troops would conduct “security and stabilisation” operations in the upper Gereshk Valley but provided no other details.

Meanwhile, a Nato spokesman said it was further investigating a recent shipment of weapons intercepted by Nato troops near the Iranian border.

“Although we know that it came from the geographic area of Iran, there is no definitive indication that it came from the Iranian government. We’re still evaluating what is contained in that shipment,” said spokesman Maj Charles Anthony.

Insurgency-related violence has killed more than 4,300 people this year, most of them militants, according to an Associated Press tally of figures from Western and Afghan officials.