Hundreds of US-led troops have launched an offensive against Al Qaeda and Taliban in eastern Afghanistan, officials said on Wednesday. The offensive involved ground troops and airstrikes in Tora Bora and targeted "hundreds of foreign fighters" who were using dug-in fighting positions, said coalition spokeswoman Capt Vanessa Bowman. There were no immediate reports of casualties among militants or US and Afghan troops. Separately, three senior German police officers charged with protecting the German ambassador were killed and one was wounded in a roadside bomb near Kabull, officials said.
Police said the diplomatic convoy was hit by a remote-controlled roadside bomb. Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone call and confirmed the bomb's nature. Also on Wednesday, attackers shot dead a British national in Kabul, a British Embassy spokesman said. The victim's identity or circumstances of death were not revealed. Police arrested two Afghan men suspected in the slaying, the Interior Ministry said.
