 KABUL: US Marines and Afghan soldiers killed 40 Taliban in a joint operation in Afghanistan's west on Monday, the Afghan army said.
| And a good time was had by all -- on the winning side, anyway. |
"At the request of the local population
| Ohhh, that's a nice touch! |
an operation was launched by the Afghan army and the US Marines in the district of Bala Buluk" in the western province of Farah, Afghan army commander Jalandar Shah Dehnam said. During the operation, 40 Taliban had been killed and several injured, he said, adding that six Afghan soldiers had also been wounded.
| Heal well and quickly, lads, or there won't be any targets left by the time you get back. |
"We do not know if the Americans sustained any casualties," he said.
A US army spokesman confirmed that an operation was under way in Farah, but did not give further details. Muhammad Younus Rasoli, deputy governor for the province said, "More than 30 Taliban have been killed and a number of others wounded." The operation was launched late on Sunday.
Separately, Taliban killed 12 Afghan civilians in the east and north -- half in an ambush on a group of truck drivers and half when a van hit a roadside bomb, AP quoted the Afghan government as saying.
| Making friends of the populace in their inimitable way, which is why the popularity of the jihadis has dropped across the Ummah to half of what it was, only a little while ago. |
On Sunday, Taliban ambushed a group of truck drivers in eastern Kunar province, killing six of the drivers and burning their vehicles, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
A seventh truck driver had been kidnapped. Also on Sunday, a private van hit a roadside bomb in northern Faryab province, the ministry said in a separate statement. Six of those inside were killed and another seven injured, the statement said. |