LONDON, England (CNN) -- A British-led military operation meant to clear the Taliban from parts of Afghanistan has succeeded, UK officials said Monday. A file image shows a British Royal Marine sniper team on an operation in Afghanistan. NATO and its Afghan allies launched Operation Panther's Claw to flush the Taliban from parts of southern Helmand Province before Afghan presidential elections next month. Major fighting is mostly over, and the military will now focus on "holding" the areas that have been cleared of Taliban so they do not return, Lt. Gen. Simon Mayall said in a briefing. The operation's success will enable up to 80,000 people in Helmand to vote.
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Major fighting in Operation Panther's Claw over, British military says
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Operation aimed at clearing Taliban from southern Afghanistan's Helmand
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At least 20 British troops have been killed in past month
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"There will be many @placeholder who will not be fighting any more."
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Nine @placeholder troops were killed in action in the operation, he said, and there were three Afghan civilian casualties.
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Nine British troops were killed in action in the operation, he said, and there were three @placeholder civilian casualties.
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@placeholder-led forces attacked from three different directions over the next three weeks, essentially creating a "gated community" where Taliban insurgents could not get in or out, Radford said.