美国军方说，他们与阿富汗政府军在阿富汗南部发动大规模空中和地面攻势，消灭了大量基地组织激进分子。
美军星期二发表声明说，根据几个月来收集的情报和策划，攻击行动10月7日星期三在坎大哈省的沙拉巴克地区开始，星期天结束。
声明说，有200多名美国和阿富汗军人参加了这次行动。美军进行了63次精确空袭行动， 阿富汗军队对基地组织的两个据点发动地面攻势，与基地组织交火。
美军声明援引驻阿富汗美军发言人肖夫纳将军的话说：“这是美军在阿富汗发动的最大规模联合攻势之一。” 他还说，攻击基地组织长期以来藏身的塔利班心脏地带，表明阿富汗安全部队的能力不断增长。
肖夫纳将军说，攻击的两个据点，一个是基地组织训练营地，面积不到三平方公里；另外一个地点将近80平方公里。他还说，联合行动缴获了大量数据和武器，包括防空炮和火箭筒等。缴获的数字媒体设备显示，基地恐怖组织有一个庞大的媒体网络。
The United States military says it has conducted a major air and ground operation with Afghan forces in southern Afghanistan together, killing "numerous" al-Qaida militants.
Based on months of intelligence gathering and planning, the operation was launched on October 7 in Shorabak district of Kandahar province and was concluded Sunday, a U.S. military statement said on Tuesday.
It says that more than 200 American and Afghan forces took part in the offensive that involved 63 U.S. precision airstrikes while Afghan forces engaged in several battles on the ground against al-Qaida networks at two related sites.
"This is one of the largest joint ground-assault operations we have ever conducted in Afghanistan," the statement quoted Brigadier General Wilson Shoffner, a U.S. military spokesman in Afghanistan.
Shoffner said the al-Qaida sanctuary was struck in the center of the Taliban's historic heartland, demonstrating "the growing capability of the Afghan security forces."
"The first site, a well-established training camp, spanned approximately one square mile. The second site covered nearly 30 square miles [77 sq km]," Shoffner added.
The spokesman said the joint offensive seized a large amount of data and weapons, including anti-aircraft guns, rocket-propelled grenade systems with associated hardware and warheads. The digital media equipment collected from the site showed it was also a large media cell of the terrorist network.
