U.S. warplanes helped Afghan forces pound Taliban militants in the mountains of southern Afghanistan Tuesday, killing some 20 suspected insurgents at a recently discovered camp, a senior Afghan commander said. The three-hour battle occurred in Arghistan district of Kandahar province, some 120 miles southwest of the capital, Kabul, provincial military commander Khan Mohammed told The Associated Press. Khan said about 150 Afghan troops attacked the camp in an area called Ghbragyan on Tuesday afternoon, sparking a three-hour gunbattle in which three of his soldiers were injured. "After that, U.S. warplanes came and started bombing the Taliban area," Khan said. "U.S. forces told us that they had seen the bodies of about 20 dead Taliban."
Khan said he didn't know how many Taliban were using the camp on a rough mountainside, and U.S. military officials in Kabul had no immediate comment. Still, the clash appeared the most deadly since U.S.-led forces and insurgents stepped up operations in the spring, fueling a spiral of violence that has killed more than 350 people this year, casting a shadow over plans for national elections in September. |