News - Afghanistan

Nearly 200 Taliban-linked militants have been killed or captured in major military operations conducted by Afghan and foreign forces on Afghanistan's eastern border with Pakistan, Isaf spokesman Brigadier General Carsten Jacobson said on Monday.

Hundreds of Afghan troops, backed by their US counterparts, launched a major offensive focused on the troubled border last week, going after insurgents linked to the Haqqani network, General Jacobsen said at a press conference in Kabul.

"As these operations, which were Afghan-led and supported by Isaf, have concluded, we can now say that at least 200 Haqqani-affiliated insurgents have been killed or captured," the general told reporters.

About 175 rebels not related to the Haqqanis were also killed or captured in the past week, he added.

The United States has also pushed Pakistan to squeeze the Haqqani network, whose leadership has a base across the border in North Waziristan.

The US has deployed nearly 500 troops in eastern Afghanistan to target insurgents in the border areas.