25 fighters killed near Afghan-Pakistan border

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ASSADABAD, May 3 (agencies): Twenty-five foreign fighters were killed and wounded by Afghan security forces after they crossed the border from Pakistan, a government official said, the first sign of retaliatory attacks in Afghanistan after al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed. Bin Laden, the architect of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, was killed by US forces in a dramatic raid north of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on Monday, sparking fears of retaliatory attacks by Islamist militants. Jamaluddin Badr, governor of northeastern Nuristan province, said the 25 foreigner fighters killed in an operation overnight included Arabs, Chechens and Pakistanis. He said the operation was launched to guard against attacks after bin Laden was killed. Taliban, al Qaeda and other Islamist militants have long operated out of safe havens and training camps in Pakistan's largely lawless northwest Pashtun tribal regions. Meanwhile: A NATO airstrike killed at least five private security guards Tuesday who were apparently involved in guarding a supply convoy for international troops, Afghan police said. NATO confirmed that an airstrike was called in by forces in Ghazni province in eastern Afghanistan, but it its initial reports suggested the strike was on insurgents.