Nato said today its major offensive against a revitalised Taliban in southern Afghanistan is pushing the guerrillas into a corner.
Police investigate the site of a suicide attack in Kabul yesterday
"We are closing the circle on the Taliban - we have got the Taliban in a bit of a trap," Nato spokesman Major Quentin Innes said.
Nato spokesman Major Quentin Innes
Last weekend Nato launched Operation Medusa, its biggest ground offensive against an increasingly active Taliban, in Kandahar province, the hardline Islamist group's spiritual heartland.
The operation is focused on Panjwai district, near the capital, Kandahar city, and is being supported by air strikes. Panjwai has been the scene of a series of operations by Afghan and foreign forces this year.
Medusa was launched after Nato forces encountered stiffer-than-expected Taliban resistance as it took over the south from US-led troops, the alliance's biggest-ever ground operation.
Casualties have been high. Nato says it has killed more than 200 militants, a claim the Taliban disputes. At least five Canadian soldiers have died in combat, and 14 British troops were killed when their plane crashed early in the offensive.
There was scathing criticism today from an international think-tank over the operation in Afghanistan. The Senlis Council said the country was "falling back into the hands of the Taliban" because of the West's failure to address Afghans' "extreme poverty".
It said the poppy-eradication programme aimed at curbing heroin production was causing extreme financial hardship and thereby discontent with foreign military who were supposed to improve their situation after years of extremist Taliban rule.