An Afghan official said that American and Afghan forces had killed some 21 militants on Tuesday, in fighting supported by US warplanes.

“We have 21 dead only yesterday [Tuesday],” Kandahar military spokesman General Abdel Wasay told AFP. “But 30 have been killed and about 10 injured in the past several days.

“There is a huge cleanup operation going on in the mountainous areas between Kandahar, Zabul, and Uruzgan,” he added.

Where the three neighboring provinces meet has been described by the US military as the “Taliban heartland,” and is believed to host a permanent presence of fighters loyal to the ousted fundamentalist militia.

The latest fighting is the most intense since late last summer, when hundreds of people, mostly Taliban fighters, were killed in offensives against militants in Zabul.

Since then, militants have avoided gathering in large numbers, preferring to launch guerrilla-style attacks on small numbers of Afghan and foreign soldiers, or on unarmed humanitarian and civilian workers.

Afghan officials believe that 500 to 800 Taliban fighters are based in Deh Chopan, some 300 kilometers (185 miles) southwest of Kabul.

Intelligence and military officials told AFP that the insurgents are loyal to one of the ousted Taliban’s leaders, Mullah Dadullah, a man close to the movement’s fugitive founder, Mullah Muhammad Omar.

A senior UN official said earlier this week that a permanent Taliban presence had established itself in the mountainous zone that includes Zabul, Uruzgan, and Kandahar provinces.

The past week has seen daily clashes between the US-led coalition force and militants.

Some 20,000 US-led forces, mainly American, are in Afghanistan fighting Taliban, Al Qaeda, and other militants.AFP