More than 11,000 coalition’s troops fight against Taliban

More than 11,000 coalition’s troops fight against Taliban

The push starting Thursday by U.S., British, Canadian and Afghan troops aims to squeeze Taliban fighters in four volatile provinces - particularly southern Uruzgan and northeastern Helmand, where the U.S. military says most of the forces are massed.

The offensive comes amid Afghan and coalition efforts to curb the fiercest Taliban-led violence since the hard-line Islamic government was toppled for harboring Osama bin Laden following the Sept. 11 attacks, the AP reports.

Maj. Gen. Benjamin C. Freakley, the U.S. operational commander in Afghanistan, said coalition and Afghan troops would attack "Taliban enemy sanctuary or safe haven areas" in Kandahar, Helmand, Zabul and Uruzgan provinces.