NATO and US troops have been waging operations against the Taliban in the southern province of Kandahar for the past few months, following a major offensive against rebels in Marjah, in neighbouring Helmand province.

Military officials have said operations in Kandahar and its capital of the same name will escalate as more troops arrive from "shaping," or preparatory activities, with the aim of eradicating the militant threat by August.

Waheed Omar, a spokesman for President Hamid Karzai, said the Marjah push -- launched on February 13 and billed as the biggest NATO operation against the Taliban since 2001 -- was a "pilot operation to learn" how to combine military and political efforts to win public support.

"Marjah was one pilot operation where we were to learn from the past and go on into an operation with a package," Omar told reporters.

The package included military operations, consultations with local people, avoiding civilian casualties and winning the confidence of residents, he said.

Delivering services to the people and improving security in the areas taken from the Taliban were "components" of the Marjah operation that would be used in Kandahar, he said.

"The president (is) committed to make sure that all these components which are part of a successful military operation are in place before we go and do anything in Kandahar," Omar said.

"The president has openly talked about it and the president remains committed to ensure all these components are included in an operation when it comes to Kandahar," he said.

Kandahar, the capital of the 1996-2001 Taliban regime, is seen as the key battleground for reversing the escalating conflict, which is taking an increasing toll on foreign forces and Afghan civilians.

Military planners say operations against the Taliban in the restive province have already begun and will escalate in the coming months as thousands more troops deploy to Afghanistan under escalated counter-insurgency tactics.

The number of troops under US and NATO control is set to rise from 126,000 to 150,000 by August, by which time military planners intend to have Kandahar under Afghan government control.

The Marjah operation was a set-piece assault on one of the world's biggest poppy-producing regions, where Taliban militants had held sway in concert with drugs gangs for years.

US Marines led as assault force of 15,000 US, NATO and Afghan troops into the region to push out the militants and establish Afghan sovereignty.

Pockets of resistance remain amid intense danger posed by innumerable crude bombs and mines planted by retreating fighters.

The Red Cross has said these bombs -- cheap and easy to make, and sown across a large area -- have led to an increase in the number of civilian deaths and injuries in Marjah.

NATO officials have said the success of current operations will not be obvious for months as regions emerging from Taliban control need to start administratively from scratch.

Military operations are to be followed up with the establishment of police and security forces, as well as other civic services including health and education.

Omar said the objectives Karzai set for Marjah had yet to be achieved.

"We make sure that an operation does not remain an operation but that it brings to the people in Marjah better security, services... and good governance," he said.

"That's something we're still trying to do in Marjah. By no way we have reached the point of satisfaction when it comes to Marjah."

The US and NATO together have more than 120,000 troops in Afghanistan helping to defeat the Taliban. That number is expected to peak at 150,000 by this summer, under White House's new military strategy for Afghanistan.

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