Afghan and NATO forces using air power cleared Taleban militants from villages near the strategic city of Kandahar Thursday, killing at least 56 insurgents, officials said. Troops were now making a final search of houses in Arghandab district, a day after around 1,000 soldiers launched a huge offensive against the rebels, said the defense ministry and the NATO-led International Security Assistance force. A NATO spokesmen said the “highly successful” operation involving air strikes would help allay concerns about the force's capabilities after hundreds of militants escaped from Kandahar's main jail at the weekend. Taliban spokesmen had said some of the fugitives from the prison were among those who took up defensive positions in Arghandab's dense pomegranate groves and vineyards from Monday evening. “Arghandab district is totally cleared of the enemy presence,” defense ministry spokesman General Mohammad Zahir Azimi said at a joint press conference in Kabul with NATO officials. Fifty-six “enemies” were killed, mostly foreigners, while a number of others were wounded, Azimi added, in a likely reference to militants crossing from neighbouring Pakistan. A civilian and two Afghan troops also died, he said. Kandahar provincial governor Asadullah Khaled said earlier that hundreds of Taleban were killed or wounded during the offensive and also confirmed that the district had been cleared. NATO civilian spokesman Mark Laity said the operation, which was led by Afghan forces and involved Canadian troops, was an effective response to Friday's jailbreak in Kandahar. “Nobody is complacent, but so far it been highly successful,” Laity told reporters. “After the recent incident, the jailbreak, there was concern about our capabilities. This was a fast and very effective response, I think something that all Afghans can take great heart from,” Laity added.
