NATO says killed 55 Taliban in Afghan clashes
Source: Reuters
(Updates with suicide blast toll) Sayed Salahuddin KABUL, Nov 26 (Reuters) - NATO forces killed 55 Taliban fighters in fierce clashes in southern Afghanistan, the alliance said on Sunday, while a suicide bomber killed 15 Afghans, many working for the U.S. military in another part of the country. NATO forces called in close air support after troops came under attack in the southern province of Uruzgan on Saturday, NATO said in a statement issued from its International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) headquarters in Kabul. "Initial battle damage assessment indicates that approximately 50 insurgents were killed in the attack. Regrettably, an ISAF soldier was also killed during the same incident," the statement said. Five were killed in a separate incident. Afghanistan is going through its bloodiest period since U.S.-led coalition forces overthrew the Taliban's radical Islamic government in 2001. The violence has seriously hampered development and reconstruction, raised fears that the Taliban are getting increasing support in the countryside, and reinforced perceptions that President Hamid Karzai has little control outside Kabul. The nationality of the NATO soldier killed was not disclosed, but Dutch troops form the bulk of NATO presence in Uruzgan, a remote, rugged province, where support for the Taliban is strong. RESTAURANT BLAST Also on Saturday, in neighbouring Kandahar province, NATO and Afghan soldiers, backed by air support, killed five Taliban in another clash. Three alliance soldiers were wounded. Reuters received several telephone calls from people living in the vicinity, who said more than 10 villagers were killed by NATO bombing. NATO officials denied those accounts, while Taliban spokesmen could not be reached for comment on their reported losses. The suicide attack on a full restaurant occurred in Urgun district of southeastern Paktika province, bordering Pakistan. The attack killed seven people immediately and eight of the 20 wounded, died later. Initial reports suggested the victims were mostly civilians, but it turned out that they were largely part of a militia force hired by the U.S. military, Paktika's governor Mohammad Akram Khpelwak, told Reuters. Several provincial officials, including the district chief, were among the wounded, he said. "The bomber detonated the explosives attached to his body just after entering the restaurant," the governor said, citing officials and witnesses. The Taliban and their Islamic allies stepped up a suicide attack campaign a year ago as the insurgency gathered fresh pace, despite U.S. military comments it was on its last legs. So far this year, almost 3,800 people have been killed in insurgency-related violence, including scores killed in suicide attacks, and in operations by foreign forces across the country, according to the government and the U.N. estimates. A quarter of the victims have been civilians, but hundreds of Taliban along with Afghan forces and more than 150 foreign troops have also died. (Additional reporting by Kamal Sadat in KHOST)
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