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Monday October 1, 5:00 PMMore than 20 rebels killed in US-led, Afghan raids
The troops launched an offensive based on "credible intelligence sources" against a suspected militant hideout in the southern Reg district of volatile Helmand province bordering Pakistan, the US-led coalition said in a statement. "During the course of operations, the combined force came under attack by anti-coalition militants using automatic and small-arms weapons," the statement said. "Precision munitions and small-arms fire were used to suppress the attacks, killing more than 20 combatants." There were no indications of civilian casualties, the statement said. Helmand, which is also the world's top opium-producing region, has seen some of the heaviest Taliban-led violence in recent months. Two more Taliban rebels were killed and seven others captured, one of them injured, in the neighbouring province of Zabul, the coalition said in a separate statement. Following a brief exchange of fire in a rebel compound, the troops found "significant numbers" of weapons and ammunition, the statement said. Meanwhile, Taliban fighters attacked a civilian convoy of trucks supplying foreign forces and kidnapped three drivers in the central province of Wardak, near Kabul, a local police official said. A purported Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the operation and said the drivers were seized because "they are helping the invading forces." Taliban rebels in Wardak held four Red Cross workers, two of them foreigners, for three nights last week after capturing them "by mistake." They were freed on Saturday. Taliban-linked violence has increased to a record level this year since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. More than 5,000 people -- mostly rebels -- have died in attacks this year compared with 4,000 last year. The Islamic extremist Taliban movement was ousted from government by US-led forces in late 2001 but has since regrouped to launch a major insurgency, mainly in southern and eastern Afghanistan. |
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