May 29, 2007 4:43 pm US/Pacific
Report: 6 Suspected Taliban Killed In Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ―
Coalition forces have killed six suspected insurgents during a skirmish in eastern Afghanistan.
A statement says U.S. and Afghan troops were conducting a raid on a suspected Taliban compound near Jalalabad Wednesday when they came under fire. According to the coalition, no civilians or coalition troops were wounded in the brief battle.
Afghan and international forces have conducted several raids in the eastern border provinces recently in an effort to head off militant attacks.
The raid comes a day after Taliban militants ambushed U.S.-led coalition and Afghan forces escorting supply trucks in southern Afghanistan, sparking a 10-hour battle the coalition said killed an estimated two dozen militants. Villagers said seven civilians also died.
In the north, a suicide bomber targeted foreigners in a four-wheel drive vehicle Monday, killing two Afghan civilians and wounding two others, officials said.
The southern violence began Sunday when an Afghan police and coalition convoy hit two roadside bombs and was ambushed by Taliban fighters while escorting 24 supply trucks in Helmand province, a coalition statement said Monday. The blast killed one Afghan truck driver and wounded three coalition soldiers, it said.
Militants then launched rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire, and the ensuing 10-hour clash and airstrikes killed "an estimated two dozen enemy fighters," it said.
The coalition said "one enemy fighting position" was destroyed, and that "no Afghan civilian injuries were reported."
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