Mullah Omar Relative Killed.

On June 12 said an Afghan Army general was quoted as saying security forces had raided a southern village and killed 15 suspected Taliban militants, including a brother-in-law of Taliban leader Mullah Omar while fighting elsewhere left 25 dead. The violence followed three weeks of fierce battles.

Ambassador Neumann on June 12 said Taliban insurgents were proving to be better organised and in greater numbers than expected. But he predicted the Taliban would be hit hard when thousands of new British, Canadian and Dutch troops deployed to the volatile south in July/August to take over from US troops, saying: "I think you will now see a very strong press back. I think a lot of unfortunate people who believe the Taliban and fight with them are going to die".

The brother-in-law of Mullah Omar, Mullah Amanullah, was killed along with 14 other insurgents in a village in Uruzgan Province, when troops stormed the area on June 11 after a tip from tribesmen. Afghan Army commander Gen. Rehmatullah Raufi said Amanullah, whose body was recovered from the village, was the Taliban commander in Uruzgan's Dihrawud area and behind numerous rebel attacks. It was not clear how close Amanullah was to Omar, believed to be hiding in the mountains along Afghanistan's border with Pakistan. A coalition spokesman, Sergeant Chris Miller, said the military was looking into the report that Amanullah had been killed.

On June 12 two civilians were killed and six wounded in a roadside bomb blast on the outskirts of Gardez, capital of eastern Paktia Province. The provincial police chief, Abdul Annan Raufi, said a probe was under way. Other officials blamed the Taliban and al-Qaeda for the blast. These militants are mostly active in southern and eastern regions where they enjoy considerable local support. Forces of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar are taking part in the insurgency.

US-led coalition and Afghan troops have embarked on a second drive against militants in their strongholds. This involves about 11,000 troops from Britain, Canada and the US and newly trained forces from the Afghan army. The FT on June 15 quoted US spokesman Lt Col Paul Fitzpatrick as saying the drive was part of "Operation Mountain Thrust" which began in May with a string of pitched battles in southern parts of Kandahar, Helmand and Uruzgan provinces.

The second phase will take the fight into enemy sanctuaries in the north of those provinces. This is to "help lay the groundwork for a smooth transition" to NATO, which will take command of security in the southern region from US-led forces at the end of July or early August. Fitzpatrick said: "This is a more concerted effort interdicting enemy sanctuaries and safe havens, disrupting their supply lines and leadership more than before".

A bomb tore apart a minibus carrying Afghan labourers to a US military base June 15, killing up to 10. Three shops were destroyed and twisted metal and a large pool of blood covered the street at the scene of the attack, which occurred during rush hour in the city of Kandahar. A coalition spokesman, Maj. Quentin Innis, blamed the attack on the Taliban and said it targeted Afghans working for the coalition. Among the dead were interpreters. On June 16 al-Hurra reported that at least 40 Taliban insurgents had been killed in land and air strikes in southern and eastern Afghanistan.

Southern Afghanistan has experienced a bloody upsurge in violence with more than 500 people killed in battles across the region since May and the Taliban moving closer to the main towns of the south. Fitzpatrick said troops had moved into areas such as Helmand where there had been no coalition or government presence before this year.

However, US military spokesman Col Tom Collins told reporters in Kabul the operation aimed not only to fight extremists but to extend the government's reach to allow reconstruction in previously inaccessible areas, adding: "It is very much about establishing the conditions where the government of Afghanistan can extend its authority into areas where it does not have a presence". This is an attempt to bring reconstruction to districts which have not seen any of the billions of dollars in aid that have flowed into the country since 2001.

The first British soldier was killed in combat in Helmand late on June 12 in a separate attack in Sangin district, which has been the scene of heavy fighting. British Defence Minister Des Browne, on a visit to southern Afghanistan, said "soldiers' morale was still high and they remain committed to their mission", despite the death of one of their compatriots. An American soldier died in Helmand on June 13 and another soldier, whose nationality has not been released, died in eastern Kunar province on June 13 during the US's "Operation Mountain Lion".