KABUL, Sept 3: A major Nato offensive killed more than 200 Taliban fighters in southern Afghanistan and four Nato soldiers died in Sunday’s fighting, the organisation said.

Nato also lost 14 British military personnel, who died when a Royal Air Force Nimrod MR2 spyplane crashed on Saturday while the alliance and Afghan forces mounted Operation Medusa in Panjwai district of Kandahar province.

Hundreds of troops, backed by warplanes and helicopter gunships, were involved in the offensive on the area, southwest of Kandahar city, that has been a centre of Taliban resistance.

“Reports indicate that more than 200 Taliban fighters have been killed since Operation MEDUSA began early Saturday morning,” a statement by Nato said, adding Afghan forces captured more than 80 other Taliban.

Four Nato soldiers were killed during Sunday’s operations and seven others were wounded, the statement said, without elaborating on the nationalities of the victims.

Earlier, an Afghan defence ministry spokesman said three Canadian soldiers with the Nato force were killed in the battle.

The operation was the biggest by Nato since it took over command of the southern region on July 31 from U.S.-led coalition forces, Major Scott Lundy, a spokesman for the alliance, said.

Officials said the Nimrod’s crash was caused by a technical problem, though the Taliban claimed its fighters shot down the plane with a Stinger missile.

HEAVY FIGHTING: Panjwai has seen heavy fighting before, and several thousand people fled the region earlier this year to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

This time, Lundy said, Nato asked villagers to evacuate the area beforehand and there were no reports of civilian casualties.

A purported Taliban member, Nasib Khan, phoned Reuters from the battle zone and denied that any Taliban fighters had been killed.

The sound of artillery fire, and explosions resounded as he spoke, and the cries of children were heard in the background.—Reuters