International military forces helping Afghanistan to fight Islamic extremists said Wednesday they had killed 17 militants in separate operations.The US military said troops under its command had killed 11 militants Tuesday in an operation against the radical Hizb-e-Islami faction led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, about 60 kilometers from the capital, Kabul. The battle was fought in the Sarobi district, where militants killed 10 French soldiers in August in the deadliest ground battle for international soldiers since the invasion of Afghanistan by US-led forces in 2001.
The US attack in Sarobi targeted a Hizb-e-Islami leader wanted for trafficking weapons and fighters and for carrying out attacks, the US military said in a statement. The militants had opened fire on approaching troops, it said. "Coalition forces returned fire and killed two of the militants. Still receiving fire, coalition forces engaged the militants with close-air precision munitions and killed the remaining nine militants," it said, referring to air strikes. Weapons, ammunition and other military equipment found at the scene were destroyed, the statement said.
Meanwhile, the separate NATO-led force said that its aircraft on a combat-escort mission had spotted "eight insurgents with weapons moving into fighting positions" in eastern Afghanistan Tuesday. "The aircraft engaged the insurgents, killing six," it said.
There were allegations that some civilians were hurt in the strikes, the International Security Assistance Force said, adding that it was investigating, but it had clear evidence the aircraft fired at "enemy insurgents."
Also Wednesday, French Defense Minister Herve Morin arrived in Kabul for a New Year visit with French soldiers in the NATO-led force. Morin was also due to meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and to visit a French-funded mother-and-children's hospital in the capital. He will also take part in a military outreach operation with Afghan civilians and join French troops at one of their forward operating bases for the New Year's Eve celebration. On Thursday Morin is scheduled to fly to a large military base outside the southern city of Kandahar, where France has stationed six Mirage 2000 fighter jets to support US and NATO-led troops on the ground.