 KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - NATO forces killed up to 22 Taleban fighters in an air strike in AfghanistanÂ’s southern province of Kandahar, Afghan and alliance officials said on Thursday. Residents said at least one woman was also killed in the raid on Wednesday evening in Zari district, southwest of the provincial capital, Kandahar city. They said cluster bombs were dropped in the attack on the district, scene of a major NATO offensive in September in which hundreds of Taleban were killed.
| Cluster bombs have been in the news lately, haven't they? |
A NATO official in Kabul said 20 insurgents were killed in WednesdayÂ’s raid, but had no further details. District police chief Ghulam Rasool said 22 rebels died.
The Taleban said only two guerrillas were killed in the air strike, which they said followed an ambush of NATO vehicles in the province.
 Clashes between insurgents and NATO-led and Afghan troops left 34 Taliban and three policemen dead in the latest violence in Afghanistan, officials said on Thursday. Eight policemen, eight Taliban and three civilians were also wounded during the fighting in volatile southern provinces of Kandahar, Zabul and southeastern Khost which erupted overnight and continued early Thursday, police said. Twenty-two Taliban were killed during a joint operation by Afghan army, police and NATO forces late Wednesday in the Pashmole area of Zahri district in Kandahar province, district police chief Ghulam Rasoul Aka said.
Fighting erupted again early Thursday in Pashmole when insurgents attacked a police vehicle, prompting a gunbattle which left six Taliban dead, Aka said. In Zabul, Taliban fighters ambushed a police patrol killing two policemen and wounding another five. In Khost, rebels attacked a highway police patrol late Wednesday, killing a policeman and wounding three others. |