|
40 Taliban killed, 14 held in Afghanistan
 An Afghan provincial police chief said on Sunday that around 40 Taliban fighters were killed in two days of fighting between insurgents and security forces in southern Afghanistan. Afghan and international forces backed by strike aircraft fought the rebels over two days in Kandahar provinces Shah Wali Kot district, according to General Sayed Agha Saqib. In the fighting, 35 Taliban were killed and 10 more captured, he said.He said that an Afghan soldier was slightly hurt. He added that there were also new clashes in the provinces volatile Zhari district late on Saturday. Five Taliban were killed and four captured. There was no way to independently verify the toll issued by the police chief. The media offices of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force and separate US-led coalition could not immediately confirm their involvement. The two forces, which together number around 55,000 soldiers, are helping Afghanistan fight a rebel insurgency that has been its bloodiest this year since the Taliban were forced from government in late 2001. Around 6,000 people have been killed since January, according to an AFP count based on official reports. Most of them have been rebel fighters, who are said to get reinforcements from training camps across the border in Pakistan. Suicide attack: General Saqib also confirmed a suicide attack near an international military convoy in Shah Wali Kot district. A bomb-laden car exploded killing only the suicide bomber. There were no casualties to the troops and civilians, the police chief said. He said the suicide blast targeted troops with the NATO International Security Assistance Force. ISAF did not immediately know about the incident and a separate US-led coalition also had no information about the attack. Taliban: A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attack in the southern province of Kandahar. The bombing was the latest in around 140 suicide attacks in Afghanistan this year. The worst killed nearly 80 people most of them under 18 in the northern province of Baghlan on November 6.6. Meanwhile, Afghanistan has welcomed The Netherlands decision to extend its military presence in the country but said the long-term solution to security lay in building the Afghan army. The Netherlands centre-left coalition government has announced it would extend until December 2010 the mandate of its 1,650 troops serving under NATO-led force. Posted by: Fred 2007-12-03 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=210990 |