Aug 29, 2007, 13:36 GMT
Kabul - US-led coalition forces said Wednesday they killed more than 100 Taliban insurgents in southern Afghanistan, while a suicide bombing in a crowded market in a southeastern province killed six and wounded 11, officials said.
In a statement, US-led coalition forces claimed to have killed more than 100 suspected Taliban fighters in an engagement which was still ongoing in the southern province of Kandahar.
One Afghan army soldier was killed, three coalition troops and three Afghan soldiers were wounded injured in the fighting eight kilometres south of Chenartu village in Shah Walikot district, the statement said.
The combined forces were attacked by a large number of insurgents using small arms, heavy machineguns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars, the statement said.
The coalition forces repelled the attack with aircraft that destroyed hilltop sniper positions and two trucks used to reinforce and resupply the rebels.
No civilians were killed or wounded as all targets were engaged in open and unpopulated areas, it said.
Taliban officials were not immediately available for any comment.
Since the fighting in Panjwayi district of Kandahar province in summer 2006, which left more than 1,000 rebels dead, it was the first large-scale attack the Taliban had launched on the joint forces.
Also Wednesday, a suicide bomber detonated his explosive-packed vest in a crowded market in southeastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing six including two Afghan army soldiers and wounding 11, a provincial governor said.
The attack took place on at around noon in Bermal district of Paktika province, which has a long border with Pakistan, Mohammad Akram Khepilwak said.
'Four civilians, two Afghan national army soldiers were killed and 10 civilians and one police officer were wounded when the bomber detonated the explosives that he had strapped around his body,' he said.
The target of the attack was 'killing the innocent people and creating fear among the people in the province,' he said, adding, 'if not why he should have exploded himself among the civilians in a crowded market.'
In the eastern province of Nangarhar, coalition forces arrested six alleged insurgents, and in the south-east province of Ghazni seven suspects were detained, the military reported Wednesday.
Since spring, the fighting has killed more than 4,000 Taliban-led insurgents, according to coalition officials.
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