 KABUL, July 23 (AP) - (Kyodo)—Dozens of suspected Taliban militants have been killed in battles with Afghan-Coalition forces in southern Afghanistan, the U.S.-led forces said Monday. Afghan and Coalition forces routed a large number of Taliban fighters during a patrol in the northern province of Helmand in an overnight battle, the U.S.-led Coalition said in a statement.
| I see the dreaded Summer Offensive™ is off to a fine start. |
"More than four dozen insurgents had been confirmed killed by Afghan army at the scene, including what intelligence suggests were two mid- level Taliban commanders," it said, adding there were no Afghan or Coalition casualties. The militants also tried to shoot down a Coalition aircraft with a surface-to-air missile but failed, the statement added.
| They keep putting their faces in the way, eventually we'll bruise our knuckles. |
Meanwhile, 14 militants, including a commander, were killed in an Afghan police operation in Zabul Province in southern Afghanistan, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. |