Coalition troops kill 14 Taliban militants
Coalition forces attacked a Taliban safe house and killed 14 militants today in eastern Afghanistan, the military said.
Soldiers tracked a group of militants carrying AK-47 sub-machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades to a compound in the Kamdesh district of Nuristan province, a coalition statement said.
“The extremists were observed hiding and then coalition forces attacked them once they reached their safe house, destroying two buildings in the compound,” the statement said.
The statement said soldiers discovered the bodies of 14 extremists inside the compound.
The coalition gave no details on the nationality of the soldiers, but US troops have been actively operating throughout eastern Afghanistan alongside Afghan forces since April hunting Taliban militants and allied extremists in the region, which borders Pakistan.
In a separate incident, Afghan and coalition forces raided a village in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar early today, killing one suspected militant and detaining eight others, the military said.
The raid in Gapozal village occurred after coalition officials obtained information from detained insurgents on where other militants may be hiding, a military statement said.
The suspected militants were believed to have planned and carried out attacks on Afghan and coalition forces in Kandahar and neighbouring Helmand province, the military said.
There were no reported civilian or coalition casualties during the raid, which met with “minimal resistance,” the statement added.
More than 10,000 US, Canadian, British and Afghan soldiers are scouring southern Afghan provinces targeting Taliban fighters in the largest military offensive launched since the 2001 US-led invasion that ousted the Taliban for harbouring al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
Since May, more than 600 Afghans, mainly militants, have been reported killed in Afghanistan, the coalition said.
Also today, the Italian government approved the refinancing of the country’s military mission in Afghanistan despite opposition from far-left allies.
Unlike in Iraq, the new Romano Prodi government backs the Afghan mission because of Nato and EU involvement. Italy has some 1,800 troops in Kabul and Herat and the Nato alliance recently asked Italy to increase its troop strength.
Yesterday, Taliban militants also ambushed a US convoy in the eastern Kunar province, sparking a firefight that killed one civilian, officials said. It was not immediately clear who caused the casualties.
In southern Zabul province, Taliban fighters also attacked a local district chief’s office yesterday. During the one-hour gun battle, police killed two Taliban fighters and wounded four, said provincial police chief Noor Mohammed Paktin.
The Taliban left the two bodies but fled with the injured fighters, Paktin said.
In southern Ghazni province, police arrested six suspected militants in Andar district after a highway policeman was abducted a day earlier, said police chief Thafser Khan.
