The number of militants killed in clashes with foreign and Afghan forces in southern Afghanistan has risen to at least 69, Afghan officials say. Troops attacked rebel positions in two separate operations in Helmand province. Seven policemen were killed in the fighting, officials said.
In recent weeks, Helmand has seen heavy fighting between Nato and Afghan forces and the Taleban and their allies. There has been no independent confirmation of the latest deaths. Nato confirmed on Friday that its forces were supporting Afghan troops in fighting around Babaji, along the Helmand River, north of Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital. Helmand is a major centre for opium production.
Defence ministry spokesman Mohammad Zahir Azimi told reporters "69 enemy elements" had been killed in the fighting. The operations were launched from the town of Gereshk and Lashkar Gah, 40km (25 miles) to the south-west. "Forty-nine bodies of the enemy were left at the battleground. Seventeen enemy elements were arrested, including three wounded," he said. As well as seven police killed, another 19 members of the Afghan security forces had been injured, he said.
A statement from the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) said its troops were providing "flank protection, close air support and medical support". | Sounds like the Afghans are stepping up their game |
Bloodshed in Afghanistan last year returned to levels not seen since the fall of the Taleban in 2001, with the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar and areas in the east of the country particularly hard-hit. Some 4,000 people are believed to have died last year in the insurgency - about a quarter of them civilians. | Yeah, yeah, we know. And the other 3000 were bad guys |
Nato and Afghan forces began what they said was their largest offensive to date against the Taleban in the south of the country earlier in March. Operation Achilles will eventually involve more than 4,500 Nato troops and nearly 1,000 Afghan soldiers in Helmand province, the alliance says. |