NATO says fewer Taliban attacks in Afghan south

KABUL, Oct 11 (Reuters) The number of attacks by Taliban guerrillas in their heartland in southern Afghanistan has fallen significantly since a big NATO military operation against the guerrillas, the alliance said.

''Although many challenges remain, and we do not underestimate the problems, there has been a significant decline in violence.'' NATO spokesman Mark Laity told reporters in Kabul yesterday.

NATO estimates it killed about 700 rebels in the two-week Operation Medusa northwest of Kandahar city, capital of Kandahar province, that ended on September 18. This part of southern Afghanistan is considered the bastion of the Taliban.

Laity said attacks had halved from 122 in the first full week of September -- as NATO launched its offensive -- to 61 in the week from September 25, adding the real fall in violence was higher because of the way NATO defined an attack. He did not elaborate.

The figures cover NATO's southern command, which it took over from U S forces in July, and includes provinces not involved in Operation Medusa.

The takeover prompted a spike in fighting in what was already Afghanistan's bloodiest year since a U S-led coalition ousted the Taliban government in 2001 when it refused to give up Osama bin Laden after the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.

An estimated 2,500 people have been killed in fighting so far this year, including more than 140 foreign troops.

In the biggest operation in its history, NATO took full command of Afghanistan last week, with more than 30,000 troops, including 12,000 U S soldiers.

Asked if NATO would launch an offensive similar to Medusa in the east which has just come under its command, Laity said he would not comment on operational issues.

NATO's commander in the country, British Lieutenant-General David Richards, said at the weekend Afghanistan was at a tipping point and he needed more troops to speed the reconstruction and development many say is vital to quelling the insurgency.

REUTERS PDM BS1552