The operation
left "numerous" militants dead, the military said in a statement. The
operation kicked off Wednesday evening in the Shorabak district of
Afghanistan's Kandahar province, and continued through Sunday.
"We
struck a major al Qaeda sanctuary in the center of the Taliban's
historic heartland," said Brig. Gen. Wilson Shoffner, a U.S. spokesman
in Afghanistan.
The Taliban
established its presence in the region by capturing the city of Kandahar
soon after the group was formed in 1994. Three years later, Taliban
leader Mullah Omar forged a relationship with al Qaeda leader Osama bin
Laden, who moved his base of operations to Kandahar.
After
the September 11, 2001, attacks, the United States invaded Afghanistan
and dislodged the Taliban government that had sheltered bin Laden and al
Qaeda, which orchestrated the terrorism. A U.S.-led-coalition has
battled the Taliban for years, since a new Afghan government took
charge.
In
the most recent offensive, "The U.S. conducted 63 precision airstrikes
while Afghan forces engaged in several battles on the ground against al
Qaeda networks at two related sites," the U.S. military said.
One
target was a "well-established training camp" that spanned about 1
square mile; the second site covered almost 30 square miles, the
military said.
Initial reports indicate the operation seized heavy weapons, bomb-making material and intelligence data, the military said.
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