Armoured columns of NATO troops rolled into the southern Afghan province of Kandahar on Friday to launch a major military operation in the volatile Panjwaii district, in what Canada's top soldier calls a move to "take out" Taliban leaders.

Gen. Rick Hillier, Canada's chief of defence staff, told the Canadian Press Friday that one of the offensive's principal aims is the killing of Taliban commanders and suicide bomb-makers.

"There is still a significant Taliban presence in Kandahar province," Hillier said.

The British-led operation, which also includes Estonian and Danish troops, is one of the largest operations since Canadian troops led Operation Medusa in September to root out the Taliban in the same district.

However, NATO would not confirm whether Canadian soldiers are participating in the latest mission.

Operation Falcon's Summit, or Baaz Tsuka in the Afghan language, is intended to build on the success of Operation Medusa with the aim of creating stability so reconstruction projects can begin, NATO said in a news release Friday.

The alliance is leading the International Security Assistance Force, a coalition of troops from 37 nations trying to bring peace to Afghanistan.

Hillier summarized the strategy this way: "One of the parts of this kind of operation is in particular to neutralize — or take out — the leaders who plan, prepare, facilitate; who get the money and get the vehicles for people” to conduct suicide bombings."

Maj.-Gen. Ton Van Loon, commander of ISAF in the south, said the operation is a "show of unity and strength" and a demonstration by ISAF of its ability to combat and defeat the Taliban.

The alliance consulted with tribal elders and district leaders before embarking on the operation, which was planned with the help of Afghan security forces, Van Loon said.

"Operation Baaz Tsuka will send a very strong and direct message to the Taliban that the people of Afghanistan want them to leave," he said in the release. "Those people contemplating joining the Taliban should listen to their tribal elders and choose the way of peace, not destruction."

Canada has more than 2,000 troops in Afghanistan, with the majority stationed in southern Afghanistan. Canadian military officials in Kandahar declined to comment on the operation.

Nato enlisting Afghans, PRTs

CBC's Laurie Graham reported Friday from the Panjwaii district in Kandahar that NATO is enlisting the help of the Afghan National Army and provincial reconstruction teams, which consist of military and civilian members, in the operation.

"It's all in an effort to take out the Taliban. The goal is to get into villages and to help the locals take back their towns but in order to do that, they have to take the Taliban out," she said.

Graham said the troops are getting ready in Kandahar.

"The sky was very busy today, with a lot of choppers flying around. On the ground, troops are very busy, preparing their weapons, adding ammunition. There is a lot of action on the bases in the south. Canada will definitely be a part of this, but the specifics are not to be reported."

Troops on the move

According to a Reuters news report, hundreds of NATO troops were on the move overnight Thursday, having left their base in nearby Helmand province to set up a camp in the desert north of the Arghindab River valley. The area is said to be a Taliban stronghold.

"We're here on an intelligence-led mission against the Taliban," operation commander Lt.-Col. Matt Holmes told Reuters. "You can tell by the size of our presence that we mean business."

In recent months, NATO troops have been the target of a number of suicide bombings.

On Friday, two separate suicide bomb attacks killed at least one Afghan soldier and wounded seven people, including two Afghan soldiers.

In the first incident, a suicide car bomber hit an Afghan and NATO convoy in the eastern province of Paktia, killing an Afghan soldier and injuring five people.

In the second incident, a male bomber wearing a burka approached Afghan soldiers on patrol in a market place in the nearby province of Paktika and detonated his explosives, wounding two soldiers.

Forty-four Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have been killed since Canada sent troops to the troubled country in early 2002.

With files from the Associated Press