 | "Sebenty! Sebenty Talibunnies titz-up! Apf apf apf apf!" |
Afghan troops backed by foreign soldiers and airpower killed about 70 suspected Taliban fighters in raids close to the Pakistan border and elsewhere in the country, authorities said Saturday. US-led troops and Afghan security forces raided compounds late Friday in three villages in the remote Pitigal Valley border region, the US-led coalition said. More than 20 insurgents were killed and 11 others were detained, while officers also discovered a bomb-making factory, it said in a statement. In the central province of Ghazni, Afghan police attacked a group of Taliban planning to strike security forces, killing 18 and arresting six others, said provincial police Gen. Ali Shah Ahmadai. “It was a successful operation,” he said.
| This isn't war, this is bowling. |
A coalition statement said the operation was targeting “a militant responsible for facilitating the movement of foreign fighters.” It resulted in the seizure of mortar and artillery rounds, numerous hand grenades, rocket-propelled grenades and other ammunition, it said. It did not say if the targeted militant was among those killed or provide any other details.
Taliban militants abducted 23 South Koreans in Ghazni six weeks ago. They killed two male hostages, released two women last month and freed the final 19 this past week after the Taliban held unprecedented negotiations with the Seoul government. |