 U.S. and Afghan soldiers backed by warplanes and artillery battled suspected insurgents in clashes near the border with Pakistan, and four Paks fighters and one Afghan soldier were killed, the U.S. military said yesterday. In another incident, one Afghan soldier was killed and another was injured yesterday when the vehicle they were traveling in hit a land mine east of Kandahar, said U.S. military spokesman Sgt. Terry Somerville. The injured soldier was flown to the nearby U.S. base for treatment, Somerville said.
The clashes occurred Thursday near Gayan, 100 miles south of the capital, Kabul, in Paktika province, a military statement said. Another Afghan soldier was wounded, while no Americans were reported hurt. In one battle, Afghan soldiers and troops from the U.S.-led force in Afghanistan fought about 20 Paks gunmen near the border with small arms and called in artillery and warplanes. One Afghan soldier and two Paks militants were killed. A second battle ensued as the insurgents tried to retreat, and two more Paks rebels were killed, the military said. The wounded Afghan soldier was in stable condition at the U.S. base in the southern city of Kandahar, it said. |