KABUL, Dec 11: The US-led military in Afghanistan has kicked off a new operation to hunt Taliban militants in their winter stronghold and force them to accept an Afghan government reconciliation offer, a US military spokesman said on Saturday.

The operation, dubbed "Lightning Freedom" and involving the entire 18,000-strong US-led force, began four days after President Hamid Karzai was sworn in on Tuesday as the country's first ever elected head of state.

Major Mark McCann of the US Army told reporters at a regular news briefing in Kabul that the military aimed to hunt down hardcore militants and pressure more moderate Taliban members to accept an arms-for-amnesty offer from the Afghan government.

"The first thing obviously is to facilitate the entire reconciliation process to get these folks to come to the realization that it is better to become part of the peaceful process than not," he said.

The offer did not include some 50 to 100 militants accused of crimes against humanity whom Major McCann described as "hardcore ideologues who refuse to change their belief and essentially fight to the death".

The major said the offensive was also aimed at providing security for Afghanistan's parliamentary elections scheduled for next spring.

"We believe that these operations will establish security conditions that will allow the parliamentary elections in spring to occur," he added.

The comments come a week after US ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad offered an olive branch to the Taliban on the condition that they lay down their arms.

The envoy called on "Taliban remnants" to get in contact with tribal elders or the US-led forces to declare their allegiance to the Afghan government.

A spokesman claiming to be from the Taliban has rejected the offer.

Major McCann said the Taliban had split into two groups with a majority eager to join the peace process and a small hardcore still willing to fight.

"So you have got those two groups of Taliban who see things completely differently. We are talking about a sort of split in the Taliban, there are those who see violence and there are those who see peace," he added.

The US official said the offensive, which will go throughout the winter months, would target fighters as they retreated to their hideouts during the bitterly cold season.

"It is designed to search out and to destroy the remaining ... Taliban who traditionally we believe go to ground during the winter months."-AFP