London - British forces have taken four key Taliban positions during an 18-day offensive in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province in which 100 Taliban fighters and five British soldiers were killed, the London Defence Ministry announced Sunday. The ministry said the action began already on December 7 and involved some 1,500 British troops plus Danish and Estonian soldiers of the NATO-led International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) plus Afghan government forces.
The aim of the offensive, which was concentrated around the town of Nad-e-Ali, was to improve security in the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah, a ministry spokesman said. |