Three US soldiers, 25 militants killed in Afghanistan

Oct 17, 2009, 12:12 GMT

Kabul - Three US soldiers were killed in bomb blasts, while Afghan and NATO forces killed 25 militants in Afghanistan's volatile southern and eastern regions, officials said Saturday.

The two US soldiers were killed in a roadside blast in the east of the country while another was killed in a similar explosion in a southern province, the US military said in a statement. Both incidents took place on Friday.

Fatalities among US and other NATO troops have sharply escalated this year as militants have stepped up their attacks and expanded their areas of control to what were previously regarded as peaceful regions.

At least 415 international soldiers, nearly 250 of them US troops, have been killed so far this year, marking it the bloodiest year for the allied forces since the ousting of the Taliban regime from Kabul in late 2001.

Meanwhile, Afghan and NATO forces killed 20 Taliban militants in Urgon district of southeastern province of Paktika on Friday in an operation in which an airstrike was also used, Hamidullah Zewak, a spokesman for the provincial governor said.

Mullah Ismail, one of the Taliban district level commanders was also among those killed, he said, adding that no Afghan or foreign troops were killed in the firefight.

Another five militants were killed in an Afghan army commando operation in Gerishk district of southern province of Helmand, Afghan defence ministry said in a statement. The forces arrested two other militants during the operation, it said.

Militants, who are most active in the turbulent southern and eastern provinces, are expected to increase their attacks in weeks to come before the onset of winter, a season that has seen a lull in the past eight years.