Meanwhile a British soldier died in a suicide car bombing in Kabul. 17 British service members died over the weekend in Afghanistan and Iraq making it the deadliest period for Britain since the start of the Iraq invasion. 14 of the British soldiers died on Saturday when their spyplane crashed in Afghanistan. Britain has rejected claims that the Taliban shot down the plane. Meanwhile NATO has launched a major offensive against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan. NATO claims 200 Taliban fighters have died but the Taliban claims less than 10 of its fighters have been killed.