NATO takes over Taliban area in S. Afghanistan

More than 1,000 NATO and Afghan troops clashed with Taliban and took over control of a district center in southern Afghanistan long held by the militants, officials and witnesses said Saturday. The troops used helicopters, armored vehicles and infantry in their push toward the town of Sangin in Helmand province, the world's biggest opium-producing region, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said in a statement late Friday.