Afghan, coalition forces kill more than dozen Taliban fighters

Dec 3, 2008, 8:05 GMT

Kabul - Afghan and US-led coalition forces killed 13 militants and captured 15 others in separate clashes in southern and eastern Afghanistan, military sources said Wednesday.

Combined forces killed seven Taliban insurgents in Nad Ali district of the volatile southern province of Helmand Tuesday, US military said in a statement.

Troops were conducting patrols in the area when insurgents attacked with small arms' fire and rockets, the statement said.

'The combined forces responded with organic weapons, and killed them,' it said.

No troops or civilian casualties were reported, it said.

Three other militants were killed on Tuesday in Andar district of southern Ghazni province, the US military said in a separate statement.

Andar is the most volatile district in Ghazni province. On Monday, two rebels on motorbike shot and killed district governor Abdul Rahim Desiwal. The Taliban took responsibility for the attack.

In a separate incident, three militants trying to plant a roadside bomb in Jani Khail district of south-eastern province of Paktia on Tuesday were killed by local residents, the defence ministry said in a statement.

The Afghan government and NATO-led forces recently said they planned to arm local people against the insurgents.

Afghan forces detained 14 suspected militants in Mosahi district of Kabul province on Tuesday, the defence ministry said.

Taliban militants are said to be operating in districts that border the capital of Kabul, posing a serious threat to the seat of the Western-backed government.

Despite the presence of some 65,000 international forces in the country, Taliban fighters have been increasing their attacks.

The fighting has killed more than 4,000 people - mostly insurgents -in the first eight months of the year, according to UN estimates.