(KUNA) -- Afghan's Defence Ministry on Saturday released first official comment on the massive "Operation Mountain Thrust", the second phase of which was started in southern parts of the country on June 15. Launched in Afghanistan's four volatile provinces of Kandahar, Helmand, Zabul and Uruzgan, about 11,000 American, British, Canadian and Afghan forces are taking part in the operation, the biggest in Afghanistan since the overthrow of Taliban in 2001.Briefing journalists about the achievements and progress made so far, Defence Ministry's spokesman General Zahir Azimi said 149 militants had been killed and 160 arrested in the ongoing operation in different parts in the southern region. Azimi said only three Afghan army soldiers were killed over the fortnight. He said this was the first time that the Afghan army was carrying out a joint operation with the foreign forces to wipe out terrorists and their hideouts.
Expressing satisfaction over the progress made by the foreign and Afghan troops in the anti-Taliban operation in the past two weeks, the spokesman said they had made significant achievements by pushing the enemies into the mountainous areas and destroying their sanctuaries and weapon dumps in several parts of the four provinces. Without mentioning for how long the operation would continue, the Afghan general said they were trying to arrest, kill or throw out the miscreants from the Afghan soil. It is said the coalition forces had launched the biggest offensive to ensure smooth expansion of the NATO forces to the southern parts of Afghanistan.