.More than 100 dead in Afghanistan violence
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) - Taliban militants fought fierce battles with coalition and Afghan forces in a dramatic upsurge of violence in southern Afghanistan that left more than 100 people -- mostly rebels -- dead, officials said
Two suicide bombs also rocked the insurgency-hit country. One in western Afghanistan killed a US anti-narcotics adviser while a civilian died in the other in the south.
The battles, in which 13 police and a Canadian soldier also died, were all in the volatile south and came weeks before NATO-led peacekeepers are due to take over operations in the troubled region at the end of July.
It was the worst violence for months in Afghanistan, where remnants of the ultra-Islamic Taliban continue to wage a bloody insurgency more than four years after their hardline regime was ousted by US-led forces.
In an operation early Thursday in southern Kandahar province seven Taliban were confirmed killed with another 15 to 20 likely dead in an air strike, the US-led coalition said. A coalition soldier was also wounded.
Three suspected Taliban hideouts were destroyed in the operation, designed to "detain individuals suspected of terrorist and anti-Afghanistan activities," it said in a statement.
Separately a battle raged in Helmand province for several hours late Wednesday after police stormed a district on a tip-off that Taliban fighters had massed there, interior ministry spokesman Yousuf Stanizai said Thursday.
Thirteen police were killed, seven were wounded and two are missing after the hours-long fighting in Musa Qala district, Stanizai said.
"Around 40 Taliban were killed and they have left behind the bodies of 10," he said. The militants often take the bodies of their dead away with them.
Ten Taliban were captured, he said.
"The attack was very strong," said Moheedin Khan, a spokesman for the Helmand governor. "But we resisted."
Britain will have stationed some 3,000 troops by July in Helmand to help maintain security.
Afghan security forces backed by Canadian troops and artillery and British helicopters fought Taliban insurgents for most of the day Wednesday in neighbouring Kandahar province.
"Eighteen Taliban have been killed and 35 are detained" in the fighting centering on Panjwayi district, 24 kilometres (15 miles) west of Kandahar city, coalition spokesman Major Quentin Innis said Thursday.
A Canadian soldier was killed when her unit came under fire from small arms and rocket-propelled grenades. She became the first Canadian woman to die in combat since World War II.
Kandahar is the birthplace of the Taliban movement that rose to control most of war-weary Afghanistan by 1996. It was toppled by a US-led coalition in late 2001 when it refused to hand over Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
In southern Ghazni province meanwhile, Taliban attacked a police post and killed three policemen, provincial governor Sher Alam Ibrahimi told AFP.
"Taliban attacked a border police vehicle on a road between Ghazni and Kandahar. Three border regiment police were martyred," he said.
A US anti-narcotics adviser was killed in the western city of Herat when a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-packed car into his Land Cruiser, the US embassy said. An Afghan interpreter was wounded.
Two other US nationals were injured, one of them seriously, it said.
A Romanian and two Afghans also suffered minor injuries, a Western official said.
Shortly afterwards, US security staff shot dead an Afghan truck driver who failed to stop at a checkpoint.
"It appears his death was the result of gunfire from American investigators and military personnel who feared another suicide attack when the driver failed to stop his vehicle at a military checkpoint and drove directly at the Americans," the embassy said in a statement.
"The incident is being investigated in cooperation with Afghan authorities. The United States embassy regrets the loss of life," it said.
The second suicide attack struck hours later in the southern province of Ghazni.
The attacker blew up his car near a military post in the provincial capital of the same name, killing a civilian, Ghazni governor Sher Alam Ibrahimi said.
"A civilian was killed and another was wounded in this attack," he said.
The bomber had tried to slam his explosive-filled car into an Afghan army convoy but the bombs exploded before he could reach the troops, Ibrahimi said.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for both bombings.
Taliban insurgents have intensified their attacks in recent months, including suicide bombings that were almost unheard of in Afghanistan before September last year.
There have been 22 suicide attacks in the country this year, most of them in the south. The blasts have killed 49 people, including two foreigners.
Yahoo
Two suicide bombs also rocked the insurgency-hit country. One in western Afghanistan killed a US anti-narcotics adviser while a civilian died in the other in the south.
The battles, in which 13 police and a Canadian soldier also died, were all in the volatile south and came weeks before NATO-led peacekeepers are due to take over operations in the troubled region at the end of July.
It was the worst violence for months in Afghanistan, where remnants of the ultra-Islamic Taliban continue to wage a bloody insurgency more than four years after their hardline regime was ousted by US-led forces.
In an operation early Thursday in southern Kandahar province seven Taliban were confirmed killed with another 15 to 20 likely dead in an air strike, the US-led coalition said. A coalition soldier was also wounded.
Three suspected Taliban hideouts were destroyed in the operation, designed to "detain individuals suspected of terrorist and anti-Afghanistan activities," it said in a statement.
Separately a battle raged in Helmand province for several hours late Wednesday after police stormed a district on a tip-off that Taliban fighters had massed there, interior ministry spokesman Yousuf Stanizai said Thursday.
Thirteen police were killed, seven were wounded and two are missing after the hours-long fighting in Musa Qala district, Stanizai said.
"Around 40 Taliban were killed and they have left behind the bodies of 10," he said. The militants often take the bodies of their dead away with them.
Ten Taliban were captured, he said.
"The attack was very strong," said Moheedin Khan, a spokesman for the Helmand governor. "But we resisted."
Britain will have stationed some 3,000 troops by July in Helmand to help maintain security.
Afghan security forces backed by Canadian troops and artillery and British helicopters fought Taliban insurgents for most of the day Wednesday in neighbouring Kandahar province.
"Eighteen Taliban have been killed and 35 are detained" in the fighting centering on Panjwayi district, 24 kilometres (15 miles) west of Kandahar city, coalition spokesman Major Quentin Innis said Thursday.
A Canadian soldier was killed when her unit came under fire from small arms and rocket-propelled grenades. She became the first Canadian woman to die in combat since World War II.
Kandahar is the birthplace of the Taliban movement that rose to control most of war-weary Afghanistan by 1996. It was toppled by a US-led coalition in late 2001 when it refused to hand over Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
In southern Ghazni province meanwhile, Taliban attacked a police post and killed three policemen, provincial governor Sher Alam Ibrahimi told AFP.
"Taliban attacked a border police vehicle on a road between Ghazni and Kandahar. Three border regiment police were martyred," he said.
A US anti-narcotics adviser was killed in the western city of Herat when a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-packed car into his Land Cruiser, the US embassy said. An Afghan interpreter was wounded.
Two other US nationals were injured, one of them seriously, it said.
A Romanian and two Afghans also suffered minor injuries, a Western official said.
Shortly afterwards, US security staff shot dead an Afghan truck driver who failed to stop at a checkpoint.
"It appears his death was the result of gunfire from American investigators and military personnel who feared another suicide attack when the driver failed to stop his vehicle at a military checkpoint and drove directly at the Americans," the embassy said in a statement.
"The incident is being investigated in cooperation with Afghan authorities. The United States embassy regrets the loss of life," it said.
The second suicide attack struck hours later in the southern province of Ghazni.
The attacker blew up his car near a military post in the provincial capital of the same name, killing a civilian, Ghazni governor Sher Alam Ibrahimi said.
"A civilian was killed and another was wounded in this attack," he said.
The bomber had tried to slam his explosive-filled car into an Afghan army convoy but the bombs exploded before he could reach the troops, Ibrahimi said.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for both bombings.
Taliban insurgents have intensified their attacks in recent months, including suicide bombings that were almost unheard of in Afghanistan before September last year.
There have been 22 suicide attacks in the country this year, most of them in the south. The blasts have killed 49 people, including two foreigners.
Yahoo
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