March 21, 2003	Friday	Muharram 17, 1424

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BAGRAM AIR BASE, March 20: US-led coalition troops launched a major air and ground offensive at dawn on Thursday against extremists in southern Afghanistan, close to the border with Pakistan.

US military spokesman Colonel Roger King said US Apache, Chinook and Black Hawk helicopters were backing a force of up to 1,000 mostly US troops in an operation, code-named “Valiant Strike” near the southern city of Kandahar.

According to a statement released earlier from the Afghan headquarters of the US military at Bagram air base, north of Kabul, the operation began just after first light Thursday.

“The White Devils of Combined Task Force 82 began operation Valiant Strike with an air assault at 6:00 am this morning,” the statement said.

“Valiant Strike will consist of offensive operations east of Kandahar.”

King said the operation included US Special Forces, ordinary troops and other coalition contributors, who were pursuing “specific objectives”.

“You could probably go higher than 1,000 (troops) which includes all the support forces, but there are considerably less than that on the ground,” he said.—AFP