Up to 21 suspected Taliban militants killed in Afghanistan
US-led coalition and Afghan troops killed up to 21 suspected Taliban militants in three separate clashes in southern Afghanistan, and a roadside blast killed four Afghan soldiers in the east.
US-led and Afghan troops raided a house in near Kandahar city today, killing two suspected militants and detaining five others, a coalition statement said.
Those targeted in the raid were accused of facilitating bomb attacks against coalition and Afghan forces in Kandahar, the statement said. Those detained will be questioned at a military facility before being turned over to Afghan authorities.
In the Taliban-held Musa Qala district of Helmand province, militants ambushed the joint US-Afghan force yesterday, another coalition statement said.
The joint force fought back, targeting militants who were using several compounds and trenches for cover, the statement said. It said about a dozen militants were killed in the clash.
Militants have been running Musa Qala since last year's controversial peace deal between local elders and Afghan government officials, supported by British troops in the province. The deal effectively turned over Musa Qala town and surrounding areas to Taliban control.
Also yesterday, coalition and Afghan troops spotted a group of 20 insurgents preparing an ambush in Kandahar province's Shah Wali Kot district, coalition said.
The troops attacked the insurgents and killed seven, while the rest fled, the statement said.
There were no reports of coalition or Afghan troops killed or wounded in either clash.
In the eastern province of Nangarhar, a roadside blast hit a vehicle carrying Afghan National Army soldiers yesterday, killing four troops, a statement from Defence Ministry said.
Violence is soaring in Afghanistan. This year more than 3,800 people - most of them militants - have died, according to an Associated Press count of casualty figures provided by Western and Afghan officials.
