2ND At least 42 Afghan, foreign soldiers killed in clashes

Deutsche Presse Agentur
Published: Wednesday August 23, 2006

Kabul- As many as 42 people were killed in Afghan violence including at least 11 suspected Taliban members killed in an airstrike as they were preparing an ambush while another 18 militants were killed in fight with Afghan police in south region, officials said Wednesday. Afghan police killed at least 18 suspected Taliban fighters Wednesday in a clash in the volatile southern province of Zabul, provincial spokesman said.

The firefight occurred in Khaki Afghan district of the province as the police party was on a search operation in the area, provincial spokesman Gulob Shah Alikhail told dpa.

He said Taliban fighters could not withstand the Afghan forces and withdrew to a mountainous area, leaving behind the bodies of 18 of their comrades.

An airstrike by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) killed at least 11 suspected Taliban members as they were preparing an ambush in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar, ISAF said Wednesday.

The airstrike took place Tuesday night in the Zharai district as a heavily armed, 15-man team of militants were taking up positions in the area, said the 36-nation ISAF, which was formed to help Afghan forces with security.

The militants moved to a compound upon realizing they had been detected, an ISAF statement said, adding, "After confirming there were no civilians present, ISAF dropped a precision-guided bomb on the compound."

"Based on surveillance, ISAF assesses 11 Taliban were killed in the airstrike while two insurgents were later seen leaving the compound," the statement said.

Meanwhile, one Afghan army soldier and seven suspected Taliban were killed in the latest series of fighting in Afghanistan's south, an official said.

One Afghan army soldier was killed and four others were wounded Tuesday when their convoy was ambushed by suspected militants in Khakbaran district of southern province of Zabul, Afghan defence ministry said in a statement.

The NATO-led air support was immediately called in and during the bombardment, seven Taliban fighters were killed, the statement said.

In another incident Afghan army forces arrested six armed militants in eastern province of Paktia on Tuesday, the statement said adding that the army also seized stock of weaponry and ammunition which were loaded in a truck from the arrested militants.

In Kandahar, three civilians were killed and one was wounded when two roadside bombs hit a truck and a motorbike in Daman district Wednesday, Daoud Ahmadi provincial spokesman for Kandahar's governor told dpa.

He said that both bombs went off hours apart from each on the road which is often used by the NATO forces.

Meanwhile, a Canadian soldier died of injuries received in a suicide bombing in Kandahar city, military officials said Wednesday.

The soldier was one of four ISAF troops who were hurt Tuesday in the car bombing of their military convoy. A civilians was also injured.

The soldier died in the Kandahar military hospital Tuesday night while the other three soldiers were in stable condition, the ISAF said.

The Canadian military identified the four soldiers as Canadians and said that after the bombing as security forces were securing the site, an Afghan civilian was killed and another injured by Canadian troops.

A motorcycle with the two on board broke through an Afghan police cordon and did not heed warnings to stop as it raced to a Canadian cordon, the Canadian military said in a statement. Canadian troops opened fire and injured both people, who were flown to an ISAF medical facility at the Kandahar Airfield, where one of them died, the statement said. The other person was in serious condition, it said.

The Canadian military said an investigation would be conducted.

The incidents came a day after two Canadian soldiers were wounded when their convoy was ambushed as it was en route to Kandahar airport. The majority of ISAF troops stationed in the region are Canadian.

Attacks on NATO and Afghan forces have been increasing since the alliance took command of security for six southern provinces from the US-led military coalition in late July.

More than a dozen ISAF soldiers, mainly British and Canadians, and scores of Taliban fighters have been killed in violence in the region since then.

© 2006 DPA - Deutsche Presse-Agenteur