Afghan and US forces have killed more than 100 Taliban fighters in southern Afghanistan, in the biggest defeat for the militants in the region in two years. The offensive this week was a major blow to the guerillas' bid to disrupt parliament elections in September, Interior Ministry spokesman Lutfullah Mashal said.
| Obviously, he hasn't been reading the New York Times |
Most were killed by US helicopter gunships as they fled a district on the border of Kandahar, Zabul and Uruzgan provinces seized by the Taliban last week, he said. The dead included three senior Taliban commanders, while three Afghan police troops were also killed.The US military said six of its troops were slightly wounded and two helicopters damaged by ground fire, while a US Air Force pilot was killed when his U-2 spy plane crashed on Wednesday after a reconnaissance mission over Afghanistan. Mr Mashal said up to 150 guerillas escaped the three-day onslaught and crossed into Pakistan. He said the Taliban fighters included Urdu-speaking Pakistani militants, while police said at least two militants killed may have been from Chechnya.
The latest figures bring the guerilla death toll reported by the Government and US forces in clashes in the south-west in the past week to more than 153. Hundreds more have been reported killed in a surge of activity earlier this year before the September 18 elections. "This is a serious blow for the Taliban," Mr Mashal said. "This is the first time they had gathered in such large numbers in about a year." |
