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Eighteen Afghan 'rebels' killed
At least 18 suspected militants have been reported killed in clashes with Afghan forces in southern Afghanistan. Officials said that 11 Taleban rebels were killed in a clash after they attacked a government office in Washer district of Helmand province. They say seven more rebels were killed following an attack on policemen on a highway in Zabul province. The fresh wave of clashes came a day after US warplanes killed up to 20 suspected rebels in an air strike following a rebel attack in Helmand.
The rebels killed the chief of the Washer district and a policeman after attacking a government office on Monday morning, provincial spokesman Haji Mohammed Wali said. The ensuing hour-long clash left 11 rebels dead, he added.
11 to 2, check
In a separate incident, seven rebels were killed after they attacked a police checkpoint on the Kabul-Kandahar highway that runs through southern Zabul province. Zabul's deputy police chief Bari Gul told the Associated Press that a policeman was also killed in the attack.
7 to 1, check. Add 11, plus 20 from yesterday, that's 38 - 3. Not bad, course it sucks if you are one of the 3.

Three American soldiers troops were also injured when a bomb exploded near their vehicle in Paktia province, the US military said. The US has about 18,000 troops in Afghanistan tackling remnants of the Taleban that was ousted in late 2001.
Violence has increased, particularly in the south and east, following a lull over winter, raising fears for security in September's planned parliamentary elections. Nearly 400 people have been killed in Taleban-linked violence this year, most of them suspected militants but also around 30 US troops.
Posted by: Steve 2005-06-20
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=122063