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| Afghanistan |
| Ten civilians among 37 dead in Afghanistan clashes |
| 2008-10-10 |
| At least 27 Islamic militants were killed in military operations across insurgency-hit Afghanistan, authorities said on Thursday, while villagers reported that 10 civilians died in the firefight. The bloodshed in clashes on Wednesday underscored a deterioration in security this year that has led to new emphasis on a political solution to a Taliban-led insurgency launched after the Islamist regime was toppled in 2001 by US-led forces. The claim of the heavy civilian death toll in the Uruzgan Province on Wednesday could not be independently verified because of the remoteness of the area. Afghan and international troops were on patrol when they were attacked with guns, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades (RPG), a statement from the United States military in Afghanistan said. "ANSF [Afghan National Security Forces] and coalition forces responded to the attack with small-arms, RPG and supporting fire, killing 12 militants," it stated. "Local Afghan villagers told ANSF and coalition forces that militant fire killed 10 Afghan civilians in a nearby village," the military added. Provincial governor Assadullah Hamdam, however, quoted a lower toll of six and said victims died when a rocket aimed at the troops missed its target and hit a civilian house. "As our combined troops were passing by the area the enemies fired a rocket at it. The rocket missed the troops and hit a home, killing six civilians including women and children," he told AFP. Several other people were injured in the attack in the province's Shahid-i-Ihsas district, the governor said, without being able to give an exact figure. Hamdam added that his information had came from "local officials." The coalition statement said three women and six children were taken to an international military hospital for treatment for injuries from the rebel attack. No casualties to the troops were reported, it added. In separate unrest, troops killed nine rebels in the southern province of Helmand, a stronghold for the Taliban insurgents. "ANSF and coalition forces maneuvered on the enemy position and returned fire using small arms, RPG and close air support, killing nine militants," the US-led coalition said in a statement. The Afghan Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said combined forces had killed six militants in an operation in Farah province's Bakwa district. In another incident, a "terrorist" died when a mine he was planting exploded on a road in Khost Province on the border with Pakistan, the Defense Ministry said. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 "Civilians" |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2008-10-10 15:14 |
| #2 Mud buildings, no basements except those dug as Armories |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2008-10-10 11:07 |
| #1 I gotta wonder why civilians don't head for the cellars when firefights break out in their neighborhood/village/general vicinity. That's how most of Europe survived WWII, after all. Which was a much, much more indiscriminate kind of war. |
| Posted by: Mitch H. 2008-10-10 10:43 |