US Led Forces Snuff Out 23 Taliban
KABUL - U.S.-led forces have killed 23 militants during weapons searches in southern Afghanistan while two Canadian coalition soldiers and their interpreter died in a bomb blast, the foreign forces said on Saturday.
Coalition forces searched compounds in the Garmser district of Helmand province looking for weapons.
“Several armed militants threatening coalition forces were engaged and killed during the course of this operation,” a U.S. military statement said.
Another 11 suspects were detained, it said.
Afghan troops killed more than 10 Taliban fighters in the Zherai district of the southern province of Kandahar on Saturday, the provincial police chief said.
Two Canadian soldiers with the international force and their interpreter were killed in the south when their armored vehicle hit a homemade bomb on Saturday, the Canadian army said. Three Canadians were wounded.
In eastern Afghanistan, a suicide bomber targeting U.S. forces killed one civilian, the international force said.
The Taliban have killed more than 200 people in over 130 suicide attacks this year.
While the number of attacks and casualty figures are up from last year, the proportion of foreign troops and civilians killed in suicide bombings is down, security analysts say.
This is because foreign forces are better protected against the attacks and the Taliban are using fewer suicide car bombs which tend to kill more bystanders. The percentage of Afghan police and soldiers killed has gone up, though.
(Reuters)