Dozen Taliban Killed in Afghan US-Led Fights
US-led troops and war planes killed around a dozen Taliban in battle in a southern Afghan district where major anti-insurgent operations were underway, the US military said.
The rebels were killed on Monday in Helmand province’s Garmser district, which borders Pakistan and is said to be a nest of militants involved in an insurgency hobbling Afghanistan.
Troops were searching compounds in Garmser for a Taliban commander suspected of supplying weapons to rebels when they saw militants preparing an ambush, the coalition said in a statement.
They responded with small arms and “around a dozen militant extremists were killed,” it said. Weapons and ammunition were found and destroyed.
US Marines and British troops who fall under NATO command launched an operation in Garmser two weeks ago, saying they aimed to drive out the Taliban and destroy insurgent support networks.
The Afghan Government said that the fighting, including air strikes, had forced about 6,000 people to leave their homes in Garmser.
The military says Garmser is a rebel gateway into Afghanistan from Pakistan, where extremist rebels are said to have bases.
A separate air strike on Monday by NATO’s International Security Assistance Force killed four Taliban fighters, including a local commander in the eastern province of Paktia which also borders Pakistan, an Afghan army spokesman said.
The air raid was called in after troops received intelligence about a Taliban meeting in the area, spokesman Mastak Khan told AFP.
A NATO spokesman in the area confirmed the incident but said two rebels were killed.
The Taliban insurgency, launched after the rebels regrouped following their ouster from government in a US-led invasion in late 2001, is strongest in the areas bordering Pakistan.
(AFP)
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Kill’em all. No prisoners!!!
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Mess with the best, die like the rest.
May 13th, 2008 at 11:37 am