The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Afghan
troops launched a major offensive dubbed Operation Silicon against
Taliban militants in the southern Helmand province on Monday, an ISAF
spokeswoman Angela Billings told Xinhua.

The British-led operation, which is involving over 2,000 ISAF and Afghan
forces, focuses on fighting Taliban rebels in Sangin Valley in northern
Helmand, reports quoted military officers on the front line as saying.

The ISAF soldiers involved come from Britain, the United States, the
Netherlands, Denmark, Estonia and Canada, the reports said.

An ISAF spokesman in southern Afghanistan told Xinhua the offensive was
just part of the ongoing massive Operation Achilles.

Over 5,500 ISAF and Afghan soldiers have been carrying out Operation
Achilles in northern Helmand, a stronghold of Taliban rebels, since
early March.

About 37,000 ISAF soldiers are being deployed across Afghanistan to
fight militants and facilitate reconstruction.