against Taliban, al-Qaida holdouts Kabul, Dec 11, SPA -- U.S. troops have begun a newoffensive to hunt Taliban and al-Qaida militants throughthe harsh Afghan winter, aiming to sap their strength aheadof planned spring elections, the American military saidSaturday. Operation Lightning Freedom was initiated after Tuesday'sinauguration of Hamid Karzai as the country's firstdemocratically elected president, U.S. Army spokesman Maj.Mark McCann said. He said he didn't know exactly when theoperation began and gave no details of any specific movesagainst militant targets. "It's going on throughout the country of Afghanistan,"McCann told a news conference. "It's designed basically tosearch out and destroy the remaining remnants of Talibanforces who traditionally we believe go to ground during thewinter months." Maj. Gen. Eric Olson, the No. 2 American commander here,told The Associated Press last month that the operationwould include a redeployment to tighten security on theborder with Pakistan and raids by special forces to snatchrebel leaders. The landmark Oct. 9 presidential vote which gave alandslide victory to Karzai, the U.S.-backed favorite, wasnoticeably absent of violence threatened by Talibandiehards, who continue to fight on three years after beingousted from power. Attention is already turning to the morecomplex National Assembly election, slated for April. The new drive, which involves the entire 18,000-strongU.S.-led force here, is also aimed at persuading militantsto take up an offer of amnesty from the American militaryand the Afghan government. "Ultimately, what we believe these operations will do isthey will establish security conditions that allow theparliamentary elections in the spring to occur with thesame success" as October's historic vote for president,McCann said.--more1149 Local Time 0849 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/223987