Afghan and international forces have retaken a district near the Pakistan border that was overrun by Taliban militants, NATO and the government said Tuesday.

The militants seized the district of Bargi Matal in rugged Nuristan province on Saturday, driving out Afghan security forces after days of fierce fighting.

On Monday, NATO jets bombed the troubled region in what the alliance's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said was an operation in support of its Afghan counterparts.

The defence ministry said Tuesday Bargi Matal had been recaptured.

"In a joint operation of ANA (Afghan National Army) commando unit and coalition forces last night at 21:50 hours (1720 GMT) the Barg Matal district of Nuristan province was captured by government forces," it said in a statement.

ISAF said that no shots had been fired and no one was injured during the operation, which was "in response to the large amount of insurgent activity in the area during previous weeks".

The Taliban are waging an insurgency to overthrow the US-backed government of President Hamid Karzai, which is backed by 130,000 international troops.

The insurgency has gained strength in recent years as the rebels have spread their influence beyond their traditional stronghold in the country's south.

NATO, US and Afghan troops are preparing their biggest offensive against the rebels in the southern province of Kandahar, with foreign troop numbers set to peak at 150,000 by August.

earlier related report

Danish soldier killed, five hurt in Afghanistan: military
Copenhagen (AFP) June 1, 2010 –

One Danish soldier was killed and five others injured, one of them seriously, in two separate incidents in the southern Helmand province in Afghanistan, the Danish military said Tuesday.

"A roadside bomb killed one soldier and wounded two, and later another roadside bomb wounded three soldiers," the military said in a statement.

The first bomb exploded just after noon (0730 GMT), striking a vehicle carrying Danish soldiers near a patrol base in Bridzar, about six kilometres (four miles) northeast of the town of Gereskh, the statement said.

"The fallen soldier was killed on the spot," it said, adding that two slightly wounded soldiers in that incident had been taken by helicopter to a field hospital in Camp Bastion.

"Four hours later, another three Danish soldiers were injured" by another roadside bomb, also near Bridzar, the Danish military said, adding that one of them was seriously injured.

Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen said in a statement he wanted to express his condolences to the family of the killed soldier, "who lost his life fighting for our security and to give the Afghan people hope of a better future."

There are 750 Danish troops in NATO's International Security Assistance Force. Most are in Helmand province under British command.

Thirty Danish soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since the deployment began. The Scandinavian country of 5.5 million people has suffered more deaths than any other country as a proportion of the number of troops it has in the ISAF.

Two other Danish soldiers have died in Afghanistan outside of combat, one of a heart attack. The other committed suicide.

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