NATO air strikes targeting Taliban compounds killed more than 60 Taliban fighters late Monday in the Afghan province of Kandahar, Afghan police officials say. The aerial campaign was reportedly followed early Tuesday by ground troops entering several villages thought to be occupied by Taliban.
Additional: Afghanistan's Defense Ministry said 11 Taliban were killed in the Zhari district of Kandahar province early Tuesday, though the provincial police chief said more than 60 suspected insurgents died, including three regional commanders. The airstrikes were carried out at 3 a.m. local time, and many other suspected Taliban were wounded, said Kandahar Police Chief Esmatullah Alizai. He said there were no civilians killed or wounded.
Kandahar police chief Esmatullah Alizai said the air strikes were carried out in the Zhari district, about 30 kilometres east of Kandahar City, and that three well-known regional Taliban commanders were among those killed. However, the number of casualties could not be immediately verified independently. NATO's International Security Assistance Force did not have any immediate details and the U.S.-led coalition has said it was not their operation.
The AFP news service quoted a man claiming to be a Taliban commander in Kandahar and Helmand as saying the NATO air strikes were preceded by a Taliban attack. "Following that attack, NATO helicopters arrived in the area and they bombed the area. A number of Taliban were martyred as a result but I don't have exact figures," said Mullah Mohammad Ibrahim Hanafi. | Been a bad week for the bad guys |
On Friday, a joint operation involving British, Afghan troops and U.S. Special Forces killed a top Taliban commander and chief military strategist for the movement. The Taliban has since named Mullah Bakht to succeed his older brother, Mullah Dadullah, the one-legged fighter who died over the weekend in the joint operation.
How's that spring offensive going, guys? |
