Afghan and NATO troops backed by warplanes easily drove Taliban insurgents from villages within striking distance of Kandahar, southern Afghanistan's main city, on Thursday, killing 56 of them, Afghan officials said.
NATO said the operation in Arghandab was a swift success that banished any threat to Kandahar and would help reassure Afghans appalled at the mass escape of Taliban prisoners from a Kandahar jail last week.
IRAQI CITY SWEPT OF SHIITE MILITIAMEN
Iraqi troops arrested the mayor of the southern city of Amarah, as a third Iraqi military operation against Shiite militias in recent months got underway.
U.S.-backed Iraqi soldiers and police secured the city of about 450,000, a Muqtada al-Sadr stronghold and hub of smuggler networks bringing in weapons from Iran to Shiite extremists. There was no resistance.
MORE IRAQIS TIP OFF TROOPS TO STOCKPILES
Weapons caches are turning up with increasing frequency in Iraq -- from a bakery to a fish farm -- as recent security gains embolden more civilians to come forward with tips.
"These are people who in the past weren't willing to come forth because of the threats from militias," said Maj. Gen. Jeff Hammond, the commander of U.S. forces in Baghdad.
Over 4,900 caches have found and cleared so far this year.
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