The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Kabul

Soldiers led by the US military struck militant hideouts in southern Afghanistan Friday, killing about 40 rebels and destroying one of the largest caches of weapons it has ever found, the US-led force said.

The operation took place in the southern province of Helmand, Afghanistan's top opium-growing area, which has seen some of the worst fighting in an insurgency led by the extremist Taliban since their ouster in late 2001.

About 40 "anti-coalition militants" were killed, the US-led force said in a statement It was one of the deadliest strikes in weeks. More than 20 rocket-propelled grenades, as well as significant amounts of ammunition and landmines, were uncovered, the statement said.

"This was one of the largest caches of weapons found to date," said coalition spokesman Major Christopher Belcher. "Several rooms were found filled with small-arms, explosives, rocket propelled grenades and large calibre ammunition."

The statement said US-led forces had used "precision munitions" in the operation, but Belcher could not give further details. The weapons caches were destroyed. The statement said there was some damage to the surrounding area but no non-combatant casualties.