4:09pm UK, Monday July 27, 2009

A major operation dubbed Panther’s Claw, in which 10 British troops were killed in Afghanistan, has ended.

An area the size of the Isle of Wight has been cleared of insurgents

Commanders say the five-week mission cleared the Taliban from an area the size of the Isle of Wight and comes ahead of elections next month.

British troops will remain to secure the area won for three to six months, the MoD said.

Gordon Brown said the mission in the troubled southern Helmand province “has shown that it can bring success”.

“What we have actually done is make land secure for about 100,000 people,” he said.

“What we’ve done is push back the Taliban – and what we’ve done also is to start to break that chain of terror that links the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan to the streets of Britain.”

He added it was also a chance to commemorate the soldiers who gave their lives during the mission.

A total of 20 British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan this month alone.

Brigadier Tim Radford, commander of Task Force Helmand, said: “All those tragedies that we have incurred over the last month and beyond have not been in vain.”

Confirmation of the operation’s end comes on the day David Miliband called for talks with more moderate Taliban elements.

Addressing Nato leaders in Brussels, the Foreign Secretary said militants must be offered incentives to switch sides in order to undermine the insurgency.

At the weekend, the Afghanistan government said it had struck a ceasefire deal with Taliban insurgents in a remote province.

The move is the first of its kind amid an escalation of violence ahead of next month’s presidential poll.

The truce was reached on Saturday in north western Badghis province, near the border with Turkmenistan, presidential spokesman Seyamak Herawi said.

The government wanted to make similar deals with the Taliban in other parts of the country in a bid to improve security for the August 20 vote, he said.

“As long as the ceasefire holds, the government does not have the intention to attack the Taliban (in Badghis). And the Taliban can also take part in the elections,” Mr Herawi said.

Violence across Afghanistan this year reached its worst levels since the Taliban’s Islamist government was ousted in 2001.

Deadly clashes have escalated further since thousands of US Marines began a major offensive in southern Helmand this month.

But attacks have been less frequent in remote Badghis compared with Taliban strongholds in the south and the east.

The Helmand offensive is the first major operation under US President Barack Obama’s new regional strategy to defeat the Taliban and its militant allies and stabilise Afghanistan.

Britain has also backed Afghan government efforts to reintegrate Taliban insurgents who renounce violence.

Former Taliban officials have been trying to mediate between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the insurgents since late last year, hoping to eventually arrange peace talks.

Before the Badghis deal, the Taliban had repeatedly rejected such suggestions, saying they would continue their insurgency until all foreign troops left Afghanistan.

The truce was arranged after mediation between Taliban leaders in Badghis and tribal elders and other influential figures in the province, Mr Herawi said.

Under the deal, the Taliban agreed not to attack election candidates in the province and to allow them to set up campaign offices.

Mr Karzai is a clear front-runner to win the election, Afghanistan‘s second direct vote for president.