50 Taliban killed in Afghanistan:US
Tuesday, 24 July 2007
KABUL, Afghanistan - U.S.-led coalition and Afghan soldiers "routed" a large number of Taliban fighters in a two-day battle in southern Afghanistan's poppy-growing heartland, killing more than 50 suspected militants, the coalition said Monday. The battle in Helmand province's Sangin district saw the insurgents attempt to shoot down a coalition aircraft and attack soldiers with a suicide car bomb, the coalition said in a statement.
Coalition aircraft dropped four bombs during the engagement, and Afghan forces counted "more than four dozen" insurgents killed, it said.
The Sangin district chief, Eizatullah Khan, said a big group of Taliban had attacked a convoy of vehicles Sunday afternoon. He said the battle left more than 30 Taliban dead and many wounded.
Coalition and Afghan forces "only engaged legitimate military and enemy targets to minimize the potential of Afghan casualties," said U.S. Maj. Chris Belcher, a coalition spokesman. "We did this even as the insurgents tried to create some propaganda value by placing innocent civilians in harms way."
Civilian casualties have been a major problem for U.S. and NATO forces this year. Taliban militants often fight in populated areas or seek cover in civilian homes, leading to the deaths of ordinary Afghans. There were no immediate reports of civilian casualties during the battle, but those reports sometimes take a day or two to surface.
Coalition aircraft dropped four bombs during the engagement, and Afghan forces counted "more than four dozen" insurgents killed, it said.
The Sangin district chief, Eizatullah Khan, said a big group of Taliban had attacked a convoy of vehicles Sunday afternoon. He said the battle left more than 30 Taliban dead and many wounded.
Coalition and Afghan forces "only engaged legitimate military and enemy targets to minimize the potential of Afghan casualties," said U.S. Maj. Chris Belcher, a coalition spokesman. "We did this even as the insurgents tried to create some propaganda value by placing innocent civilians in harms way."
Civilian casualties have been a major problem for U.S. and NATO forces this year. Taliban militants often fight in populated areas or seek cover in civilian homes, leading to the deaths of ordinary Afghans. There were no immediate reports of civilian casualties during the battle, but those reports sometimes take a day or two to surface.