Governor: Taliban pushed out of villages

KABUL, Afghanistan, June 19 (UPI) -- Afghan troops, supported by NATO, drove out Taliban militants from villages in Afghanistan's Kandahar province, the governor said Thursday.

Kandahar Gov. Assadullah Khalid said the operation in the southern province killed or wounded more than 100 Taliban fighters, while others fled from several of the villages they had claimed to have seized, CNN reported.

Wednesday's Afghan military campaign, led by thousands of soldiers, focused on the Arghandab region, Defense Ministry spokesman Zahir Azimi said in the CNN report.

"This clearing operation is a response to a direct Taliban threat to the people of Arghandab district, where insurgents have forced hundreds of innocent Afghans to flee their homes," said a statement from NATO's International Security Assistance Force. "The operation is expected to be completed within the next three days."

The New York Times, quoting the Afghan defense ministry, reported the Arghandab operation left two Afghan soldiers and about 23 Taliban fighters, including two commanders, dead.

The Taliban "do not appear to have the foothold that they have apparently claimed," Lt. Col. Dave Corbould, commanding officer of the Canadian battle group in Kandahar, said in a statement, The Times reported.