AFGHANISTAN:Nato-led forces killed 38 Taliban guerrillas in two separate attacks in southern Afghanistan yesterday, a provincial police official said.
Backed by air support, the attacks targeted insurgent hideouts in two areas in Helmand province, the main drug-producing region of Afghanistan, the world's leading producer of heroin.
"Eleven Taliban were killed in one attack and 27 in another," the official, Habibullah, said. "There were no casualties among Nato or our troops," he added.
Fighting has begun intensifying across the country after winter and analysts say this is the crunch year for both Nato and the Taliban.
Last year was the bloodiest since the hardline Islamists were ousted by US-led forces in 2001.
More than 4,000 people died, a quarter of them civilians, and suicide bombings jumped to 139 from 21 in 2005.
Nato and the Afghan armed forces have launched their largest offensive in Helmand, targeting the Taliban and drug lords, who are harvesting record crops for the second year running.
Meanwhile, Italian prime minister Romano Prodi is facing criticism at home and abroad after a deal with the Taliban to free an Italian reporter in Afghanistan.
The United States and Britain have denounced the deal, in which five Taliban were exchanged for the journalist this week, and yesterday Italy's opposition threatened to withdraw its support for Italian peacekeepers in Afghanistan. That support is crucial for Mr Prodi ahead of a March 27th vote on the mission in the senate, where he has a tiny majority. - (Reuters)