NATO: Success of Kandahar Offensive Not Known Until June 2011

A senior NATO commander says the success of an ongoing offensive in southern Afghanistan will not be known until June of next year.

Afghan and NATO troops have been working to clear Kandahar city and surrounding districts of Taliban militants.

British General Nick Carter said Thursday that insurgent attacks will likely decrease in the winter months without foliage to provide cover. He said, during the spring months, fewer men will be available to fight because of harvesting poppy and wheat crops.

Carter said if security gains in Kandahar are still in place by June of 2011, NATO will know its strategy against the insurgency is working.

Meanwhile, Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman General Mohammad Zahir Azimi told reporters the operation is nearing its end, with many areas cleared of Taliban militants.

In violence, Afghan officials say a roadside bomb killed at least three police officers in neighboring Zabul province late Wednesday. And NATO says a bomb attack killed one of its service members in the south Thursday.

This year has been the deadliest for international forces in Afghanistan since the start of the nine-year war.

Some information in this story was provided by AP and AFP.