NATO said Tuesday international forces and Afghan police seized 250 tons of bomb-making material in the city of Kandahar - a Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan - and arrested 15 people.
A NATO statement said Sunday's raid on a warehouse in Kandahar netted large amounts of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, a key ingredient for making explosives, as well as 5,000 other parts to make bombs.
A NATO spokesman called the raid "a tremendous success" for the Afghan National police who led the operation. He said the find will undoubtedly save many lives and shows the increasing capability of Afghan security forces.
In Washington Tuesday, the White House said U.S. President Barack Obama is considering four options for realigning U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, and that he will discuss the scenarios with his national security team Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, whose country holds the European Union's rotating presidency, arrived in Kabul for a two-day visit Tuesday.
Bildt held talks with President Hamid Karzai and Bildt's Afghan counterpart, Rangeen Dadfar Spanta, on a wide range of issues, including recent presidential elections and rampant corruption.
In violence Tuesday, NATO said a roadside bomb killed a U.S. soldier in southern Afghanistan.
Also Tuesday, Japan's government pledged $5 billion in new aid for Afghanistan over the next five years to help rebuild the country.
Currently, Japan operates two refueling ships in the Indian Ocean for the international effort in Afghanistan. But the new government of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has said it will not renew the mission when it expires in January.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
