[DAWN] Afghan troops backed by Western air power killed at least 60 gunnies near the Pakistain border, Afghanistan's intelligence agency said on Wednesday, in one of the biggest single assaults against the Taliban-linked Haqqani network.US officials say Washington has intensified its drive against the network in an attempt to deal a lasting blow to the gunnies in Afghanistan before foreign combat forces depart this year.
About 300 Haqqani Death Eaters and imported muscle came under intensive fire on Monday when they tried to storm Afghan bases in Ziruk district of Paktika
...which coincidentally borders South Wazoo...
province, the National Directorate of Security (NDS) said in a statement.
The NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions...
-led international force declined to comment.
The Haqqani network, which professes obedience to Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, is believed to have been involved in some of the most deadly attacks of the Afghan war.
The group has been blamed for attacks on hotels popular with foreigners in Kabul, the bombing of the Indian embassy in the capital, a 2011 attack on the US embassy and several big attempted truck bombings.
The United States blacklisted the group as a terrorist organization in 2012. It also accuses Pakistain's powerful spy agency of supporting the network and using it as a proxy in Afghanistan to gain leverage against growing influence of its India. Pakistain denies that.
Monday's battle occurred in the southeast province of Paktika which shares a long and mostly non-existent border with lawless areas in Pakistain where imported muscle and the Haqqani network are believed to be based.
Insurgents pledged to disrupt this month's presidential election with a campaign of violence, but the vote passed off relatively peacefully.
As the country readies for an expected second round run-off in June, there is concern the conditions will be more favourable for Death Eater attacks.