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Taliban ambush coalition forces

Taliban militants ambushed foreign and Afghan forces escorting supply trucks in southern Afghanistan, sparking a 10-hour battle that the US-led coalition said killed an estimated two dozen militants.

Villagers said yesterday seven civilians were among the dead.

In the north, a suicide bomber targeted foreigners in a four-wheel drive vehicle yesterday, killing two Afghan civilians and wounding two others, officials said.

The southern violence began on Sunday when an Afghan police and coalition convoy hit two roadside bombs and was ambushed by Taliban fighters while escorting 24 supply trucks in Helmand province, a coalition statement said yesterday. The blast killed one Afghan truck driver and wounded three coalition soldiers, it said.

Militants then launched rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire, and the ensuing 10-hour clash and airstrikes killed "an estimated two dozen enemy fighters," it said.

The coalition said "one enemy fighting position" was destroyed, and "no Afghan civilian injuries were reported."

But Abdul Qudus, a villager from Helmand's Gereshk district, told the press by phone that airstrikes hit a civilian area.

"They came and bombarded the houses of innocent people. Three houses were completely destroyed. Seven people — including women and children — were killed, and between 10 and 15 were wounded," Qudus said. "Villagers are still searching for five missing people."

Another villager, Abdul Wahid, said the airstrikes struck 20km away from the convoy ambush site on the main highway.

There was no way to verify the claims of either the coalition or the villagers at the remote battle site. Taliban fighters often seek cover in civilian homes, where they fire on US and NATO forces, leading those homes to be targeted.

Civilian deaths have been an ongoing point of contention between the government of President Hamid Karzai and US and NATO forces.

Though the foreign troops say they do everything they can to avoid civilian casualties, an estimated 135 civilians have been killed this year by US or NATO military action, according to an Associated Press count based on numbers from US, Afghan and UN officials.

In northern Kunduz, a suicide bomber targeted foreigners in a four-wheel drive vehicle, but they were unhurt in the blast, said Kunduz provincial police chief General Ayub Salangi.
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