Afghan and Nato forces targeted suspected insurgent strongholds in a joint operation in southern Kandahar province, killing 15 and capturing 13, an Afghan official said Monday. Nato and Afghan forces have been trying to seize control of the Taliban heartland in southern Afghanistan since July.
They have established some pockets of security but the ultimate success of the operation will depend on the Afghan government's ability to secure the area with its own forces and provide services to the population. US officials have said that the war against the insurgency is slowly beginning to turn around and that some of the 100,000 American troops will begin withdrawing by next summer. They have not said how many troops will remain but are confident that Afghanistan should be ready to handle its own security by the year 2014.
Defence Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen said in Australia on Monday that Nato should endorse a 2014 timeline proposed by Afghan President Hamid Karzai when the alliance holds its annual summit in Portugal on November 19. President Barack Obama and other Nato allies will consider plans for transition of security control at that summit. "As a target at this point that makes sense, so I am comfortable with it," Mullen said.