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| Afghanistan |
| NATO: 'High-priority' Taliban leaders killed in Shindand |
| 2008-07-18 |
| (CNN) -- Local security forces and coalition soldiers in western Afghanistan killed several insurgents Thursday in what the NATO command called a "successful operation against high-priority Taliban targets." The operation took place in the Shindand district of Herat province. Two Taliban leaders, Haji Dawlat Khan and Haji Nasrullah Khan, and "significant number of other insurgents" were killed, according to a statement from NATO's International Security Assistance Force. It added there was no evidence of civilian casualties or accidental damage in the operation, in which a "number of men were discovered handcuffed and imprisoned in appalling conditions in one of the insurgent compounds." The incident reflects the increasing violence between troops and Taliban militants across Afghanistan and the growing concern in the United States that the war there should be more of a priority than it has been. Since May, the deaths of U.S. and allied troops have far outpaced the toll in Iraq. On Thursday, the toll in Afghanistan was 21 compared to six in Iraq. The International Security Assistance Force did not provide the nationality of the soldier who died in Afghanistan Thursday. Two top Pentagon officials said Wednesday they expect to be able to recommend more troop reductions in Iraq this fall and will try to find ways to increase troops in Afghanistan. One of the toughest fronts in the war has been the southern province of Helmand. The British Defense Ministry said its troops in southern Afghanistan killed a senior Taliban leader, two weeks after another leading militant died in a British missile attack. Mullah Bismullah Akhund was killed Saturday in the Now Zad district of Helmand, long a Taliban bastion. The Defense Ministry, in a statement on Wednesday, called Bismullah "a senior key facilitator and logistician responsible for the northern Helmand region." The ministry says his death will disrupt the Taliban's leadership structure and hamper the group's ability to conduct attacks. |
| Posted by:Fred |