Coalition troops in Kandahar

The NATO-led force in Afghanistan says it has killed about 200 Taleban fighters in the first two days of a major military operation in southern Afghanistan.

Canada confirms that four of its soldiers in the NATO-led force have been killed

in the operation, dubbed Medusa, which started early Saturday. Its aim is to flush out insurgents from the Panjwayi district of Kandahar province.

The NATO-led force says Afghan police captured more than 80 suspected Taleban fighters and a further 180 were seen fleeing the area.

A British reconnaissance plane that was flying in support of the operation crashed Saturday, killing all 14 British military personnel on board. British officials say the crash was due to a technical problem, not enemy fire.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.