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U.S.-led coalition forces in Afghanistan have launched a new operation to root out remnants of the ousted Taleban government and its allies from a mountainous region near the border with Pakistan. The U.S. military says the operation codenamed "Haven Denial" began Wednesday in Afghanistan's Paktika and Khost provinces, southeast of the capital, Kabul.

Speaking at Bagram Air Base, the headquarters of the U.S. military in Afghanistan, a U.S. military spokesman said Friday, the operation is aimed at preventing the re-emergence of terrorism and denying sanctuary to anti-coalition fighters.

The spokesman said another objective is to prevent further attacks on coalition forces and foreign non-governmental organizations working on Afghanistan reconstruction. Recent weeks have seen a new surge of attacks against foreign forces and organizations, as well as Afghan government targets.

Afghan authorities blame the attacks on Taleban fighters, remnants of the al-Qaida terror network and forces loyal to a renegade warlord, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

In another development, the U.S. military said U.S. forces discovered a bomb under a bridge outside the town of Gardez, in eastern Afghanistan, not far from where the latest operation was taking place. A bomb disposal team disarmed the device.

Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.