Two NATO soldiers, Afghan civilians among 12 killed (Roundup)

Jan 27, 2009, 13:18 GMT

Kabul - Two NATO soldiers were killed in southern Afghanistan while two police officers, three civilians and five Taliban fighters were killed in a separate blast and attacks, officials said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, up to 3,000 US soldiers were deployed to the two central provinces bordering Kabul city, in a bid to protect the capital ahead of an expected spring offensive later this year.

   The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)did not disclose the nationalities of the two soldiers killed Tuesday or the cause of their deaths.

Most of the troops under the NATO banner in the southern provinces are from the United States, Britain, Canada and the Netherlands.

   In another incident, rebels ambushed a police vehicle in the Ghazni Abad district of the eastern province of Kunar Monday night, killing two border police officers, said Abdul Jalal Jalal, provincial police chief.

   Four other policemen were wounded, he said, adding that police units were deployed to the area to track down the attackers.

   Three civilians were killed Monday in the neighbouring province of Nangarhar when the vehicle they were travelling in was struck by a roadside bomb in the Japarhar district, the Interior Ministry said.

   Police in the Nawa district of the southern province of Helmand killed five Taliban militants, including a commander named Mullah Khalid, in a clash backed by NATO troops Monday, said Assaullah Shirzad, provincial police chief.

   The clash left no casualties among the Afghan or international forces, he said.

   Separately, two police officers were wounded Tuesday in roadside bombing in neighbouring Kandahar province, police said.

   After their ouster from power in late 2001 in a US-led invasion, the Taliban reorganized their fighters and have since waged a bloody insurgency against Afghan and international security forces. The militants have steadily grown in numbers and gained ground in the past three years.

The militants even penetrated areas around Kabul last year, posing a direct threat to the country's capital.

In a clear sing of serious preparation to clamp down on Taliban activities around Kabul city, NATO-led ISAF announced Tuesday that thousands of new US soldiers were deployed to Logar and Wardak provinces, which lie on Kabul's doorstep.

Originally destined for Iraq, the soldiers with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum, New York, were then rerouted to Afghanistan in September last year, ISAF said in a statement.

Both provinces, where the troops moved in during the course of this month, are the recent centres for Taliban activities. The Taliban fighters are said to have created a parallel government in both provinces in the recent months by appointing district and provincial governors.

The main tasks for the newly deployed soldiers would include improving security in Wardak and Logar and help bring stronger government and better infrastructure to the local population, the ISAF statement said.

   Wary of the Taliban's progress, the US government, which has already deployed about 33,000 soldiers as part of a 70,000-strong NATO-led international force in the war-wracked country, has planned to send up to 30,000 additional troops to contain the Taliban insurgency in 2009.

   US President Barack Obama, who as a presidential candidate had vowed to make the war in Afghanistan a top priority, has endorsed the additional troop commitment.