U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan will launch a new

 military operation later this year to get full control of

 Kandahar, the former "capital city" of the Taliban, a senior

 U.S. official said on Friday.

The top U.S. general in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal,

 had already flagged his intention to target Kandahar following

 an offensive, now in its third week, to retake control of the

 Taliban stronghold of Marjah in neighboring Helmand province.

"If our overall goal for 2010 in Afghanistan is to reverse the

 momentum (of the Taliban) ... then we think we've got to get to

 Kandahar this year," said the senior Obama administration

 official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Militants have over the past year made startling gains in the

 area around Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban movement.

 Taliban leader Mullah Omar ruled Afghanistan from

 there before U.S.-led forces invaded in 2001.

McChrystal described the city in his assessment of the war last

 August as the "key geographic objective" of Taliban Shura, the

 main faction led by Mullah Omar.

The U.S. official was offering an assessment of the offensive in

 Marjah, which the administration views as key preparation for

 the potentially bigger battle of Kandahar, Afghanistan's

 second-largest city.