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Coalition offensive kills 45 militants in Afghanistan

Coalition forces killed 45 insurgents at two camps in southern Afghan-istan as they pressed forward with a major anti-Taliban offensive, military officials said yesterday.

On Friday, Afghan and coalition forces surrounded a "known enemy camp" in Khod Valley, Shaheed Hasas district of Uruzgan Province, killing an estimated 40 fighters, the military said in a statement.

"Coalition forces tracked the development of this meeting until there were more than 50 extremists gathered before attacking the compound," said military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Paul Fitzpatrick.

"The compound was severely damaged, and we anticipate most of those present were killed," he said.

Those killed included members of an improvised explosive device cell, financiers and area leaders responsible for attacks against Afghan civilians and the army, the military said.

"Coalition forces have delivered a quick and severe blow to the enemy today," Fitzpatrick said.

In a separate incident, Afghan and coalition forces conducted a raid on a Taliban compound near Tarin Kowt, the capital of Uruzgan, killing five insurgents, the military said. They also seized about 3.6kg of opium.

One US soldier was wounded in the raid. He was later listed in stable condition.

Meanwhile, two coalition sol- diers were killed on Friday by a roadside bomb in Asadabad district in eastern Kunar Province as they were conducting a security sweep of the area, the military said. Their nationalities were not released.

The combat operations were part of Operation Mountain Thrust, the largest anti-Taliban military campaign undertaken since the former regime's 2001 ouster in a US-led invasion.

More than 10,000 US-led troops were deployed this week across southern Afghanistan to quell a Taliban resurgence and prepare the ground for the imminent takeover of military control by NATO-led forces.

Earlier this week, coalition forces said they killed an estimated 40 militants in a remote, mountainous area of southeastern Paktika Province in operations in support of Mountain Thrust. One coalition member was wounded in that operation.

US, Canadian, British and Afghan troops have fanned out over four restive provinces -- Helmand, Uruzgan, Kandahar and Zabul -- to hunt down Taliban fighters blamed for the surge in ambushes and bombings.

Extremist forces, primarily Taliban, have been stepping up attacks against coalition and Afghan troops across the country, particularly the south, in the bloodiest campaign of violence launched since 2001.

More than 500 people, mostly militants, have been killed in the past month.

Seven militants were killed during an overnight gunbattle with police in the Mianshin district of Kandahar, the interior ministry said yesterday. One policeman was killed and another injured during the clash.

Also on Friday, Afghan authorities arrested 12 Taliban fighters who were attending the funeral of a slain commander in the Qarabagh district of Ghazni Province, Governor Haji Sher Alam said.

Afghan police and soldiers also confiscated a dozen AK-47 assault rifles, eight rocket-propelled grenade launchers and four motorbikes, he said.

Four highway policemen were killed in southern Kandahar Province when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle, provincial officials said.

Coalition forces also came under attack in southern Uruzgan Province and neighboring Zabul Province but no casualties were reported, coalition spokesman Major Quentin Innis said.
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