55 militants killed in battle in east Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - June 23, 2008 Meanwhile, a coalition helicopter attacked men suspected of
laying a roadside bomb in the same region, killing one. Afghan
officials said two civilians, including a 4-year-old boy, also
died.
The major battle began Friday in Paktika, one of the Afghan
provinces along the porous Pakistani border where clashes between
Taliban militants and security forces have intensified in recent
months.
The coalition said militants ambushed the patrol on a road in
Ziruk district with rockets and gunfire, prompting U.S.-led troops
to return fire and call in warplanes.
About 55 insurgents were killed, including three key leaders, a
coalition statement said. It did not identify them. Twenty-five
militants were wounded and another three detained, it added.
"Patrols in the ambush area continue to report additional enemy
casualties," it said.
Nabi Mullahail, the provincial police chief, said the fighting
had continued into Sunday. He said militants suffered "huge"
casualties, but had no details.
The clash was the second in three days to inflict heavy
casualties on insurgents, who have little answer to Western
airpower.
The Afghan Defense Ministry said its soldiers counted the bodies
of 94 militants after a joint operation with NATO forces Wednesday
in Arghandab, a valley just outside the southern city of Kandahar.
Outgunned militants have turned increasingly to planting bombs
for passing convoys of government or foreign troops.
The coalition said Monday that NATO troops spotted four
militants laying a bomb by a road in Nangarhar, another eastern
province.
After a gunbattle, a coalition helicopter fired on the
militants, killing one of them, spokesman 1st Lt. Nathan Perry
said. The troops pursued the other three and discovered a cache of
bomb-making materials.
Perry said he had no reports of civilian casualties.
However, Zalmay Dadak, mayor of Khogyani district, said
coalition fire during the overnight operation also hit a house in a
village, killing a man and a 4-year-old boy.
Hundreds of villagers blocked the road in protest for several
hours Monday.
Mohammed Wali, a village elder, said the father and son were
asleep in their house when a projectile hit the roof. Two other
homes were hit, killing more than a dozen cows, he said.
"We are asking President (Hamid) Karzai and the parliament to
get serious about this kind of thing. Otherwise the consequences
(for foreign troops) will be the same as for the Russians," he
said, a reference to the humbling of Soviet troops by Afghan rebels
in the 1980s.
Abdul Mohammed, a senior provincial police official, also said
one militant and two civilians were believed dead.
Civilians are regularly killed in clashes between militants and
security forces as well as bearing the brunt of insurgent suicide
bombings.
On Monday, police said a car exploded in the western town of
Shindand, killing four civilians and wounding another dozen in what
appeared to be a botched suicide attack.
Local police chief Abdul Shuqur, citing witnesses, said that
seconds before the blast the vehicle had approached a convoy of
foreign troops. He said the troops opened fire when the driver
ignored signals to stop.
A NATO spokesman had no information on the incident.
Coalition and NATO commanders blame militants for launching
attacks from family homes and in towns. However, they also face
criticism from for using heavy firepower in residential areas.
Also Monday, Pakistan renewed an offer to fence the country's
porous border with Afghanistan to stop crossings by militants.
The idea was first proposed by Pakistan's previous government of
allies of President Pervez Musharraf. Army spokesman Maj. Gen.
Athar Abbas said Monday more than 22 miles of "selected" sections
had been built when the projected was shelved last year.
Afghan and U.S. officials complain militants fighting in
Afghanistan freely roam the 1,500-mile border. Afghan officials
have argued a fence doesn't deter militants but affects families
separated by the border.
---
Associated Press writers Stephen Graham and Amir Shah
contributed to this report.